Some Salt... To Taste!

Citrus Golden Sangria

2011-12-26T15:43:00.000-08:00

I told'ja I'd see you around New Year's, didn't I? Here I am. For starters, how about we have a rapid-fire round of questions before we close this year's posts? Here we go!

Ever had a sip of a drink and wanted to jump into it and live in there forever? Ever wanted to go all the way and make your own drinks for guests rather than just pick up readily available wines, beer and soda? Ever wanted to quench your thirst with something home-made, yet with the right amount of 'hiccity-hic'? Ever wanted to feel like it is summer when it is bone-chillingly cold outside with some cheery looking drink?

Sangrias are the answer! Inviting hues ranging from blood red, fiery oranges, pretty pinks, golden yellows and clear whites - These are down-right amazingly flexible wine based drinks. And talking about color, let me mention to you that I bring to your party this drink only because of the Free-Spirit Bloggers (pun totally unintentional).

This winter, FSB-ite Mridhubhashini decided to throw more than a snow-ball at all of us. The chirpy young lady gave us a theme fit to liven up any occasion. It being New Year's and all, she made this one really vibrant. She randomly assigned colours of the rainbow to numbers and asked us to pick one each. Next she said, go ahead and make food/drinks which would finally look that colour that we picked. We FSB-ites sure love such games. And, it was my turn to paint it orange!

Many on-board FSB have chosen to make a three course meal using the colour they picked, but I decided to make just a drink, not due to shortage of orange coloured foods, but simply due to shortage of time and some other reasons (which I will fill you in shortly).

And so...yes, Sangria! They're basically wine punches supposed to have originated from Spain and Portugal and have found their way into pitchers across the world. Fresh fruit, wine, sweetener, soda and a hint of brandy if you like, is all it takes. Oh and yes, about a day for all these wonderful flavors to get to know each other well in your refrigerator.

Coming to a wee bit of news from my end - We're moving back to India for good from the US sometime early next year. So this might well be the last post from me for a long while now, unless I sneak in some sit-down-and-write time amidst all the packing that's going on. I'll certainly see you all back, but for now, I'll be taking a break. So, until next time, here's sending you and yours good luck, best wishes and good health in the coming New Year and always.

For now, go ahead and finish that pitcher of Sangria!

While most recipes call for adding gin or brandy alongside wine, I decided to do away with it. This rendition of Sangria is sweet, light, fruity, refreshing and a perfect way to begin the New Year!

Ingredients
2 Cups White Zinfandel (Or any other blush wine that you prefer)
3 to 4 Oranges, washed and sliced
1 Lime, washed and sliced
1 Lemon, washed and sliced
1/4 Cup Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
12 fl. oz. Mandarin Soda (Or use regular orange flavoured soda like Fanta etc.)
Whole Strawberries in syrup (optional)
Simple Syrup (recipe below)

Method
- To make simple syrup, combine 1/4 Cup of water and 1/4 Cup of Sugar in a saucepan on medium flame and heat, stirring continuously until the sugar dissolves and set aside to cool
- In a large bowl/pitcher toss all the ingredients except the orange soda
- Stir slowly to mix it all up
- Place in refrigerator overnight to macerate
- To serve, pour sangria along with fruit in a tall glass and top up with chilled orange soda

Makes about 2 glasses of Sangria

Again, have a fabulous New Year!

Classic Red Velvet Cake

2011-12-18T13:43:00.000-08:00

Jingle bells, candy canes, cookies and winter,
Lit up homes, decorated trees and warm apple cider!
Santa's on his sleigh, commanding his reindeer,
Would you believe Christmas is already here?

Ok, I get it. I'm no good at poetry. But, here's what is good. I have something lovely to share with you. And, it is, after all the season of giving and sharing. This time around its a classic recipe for a cake that will give you every reason (if you haven't any yet!) to celebrate - Red Velvet Cake.

I had no clue something this divine and delicious even existed until we got to the US. Call me ignorant, but I had my first taste out of a two slice packaged box at my local grocery store, which was baked at the bakery on premises. It was both love at first sight and bite, really. The gorgeous red layers bathed in serene white cream cheese frosting had me swooning.

So, yes, it was a new thing for me. I obviously wanted to try it and I did not want to experiment the first time around. I found the recipe on a popular baking website because I did not want to mess this up. Not one bit. It turned out great as you can see.

Did you know that although this cake looks so very red, it even has cocoa in it? And, buttermilk? And vinegar? The cocoa heightens the rich flavor and the buttermilk renders tenderness. Some believe that the red color comes from the reaction of the vinegar and the buttermilk. But, these days everyone uses food coloring to enhance the red.

It is said that the Red Velvet is a distant relative of the very famous Devil's Cake. For certain, this one has the colour of his horns all over himself!! Before you start growing a pair of your own out of sheer sinful temptation - Go bake!

Recipe source - Joyofbaking.com

Ingredients for the Cake

2 1/2 Cups All purpose flour, sifted and then measured

1 1/2 Cups Confectioners sugar/Powdered sugar/Icing sugar (You can use regular granulated sugar as well)

2tbsp Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 Cup Unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 Large Eggs, at room temperature

1 Cup Buttermilk (Unsalted)

1 tsp White distilled vinegar

2 tbsp Liquid red food coloring

Method to prepare the cake

- Preheat oven to 350F; Grease cake pan (I used a 9 inch round cake pan and then cut layers after baking)

- Sift together flour, salt and cocoa powder and set aside

- Cream together butter and sugar until soft and fluffy

- Add eggs, one at a time, with the mixer on

- Add Vanilla Extract and combine well

- In a small bowl, mix together the buttermilk and red food colouring

- With the mixer on low speed, alternately at the red buttermilk and the flour to the butter mixture, in three additions, starting and ending with the flour

- In another small bowl, add baking soda to the vinegar and allow to fizz

- Quickly fold this into the batter

- Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

- Once fully baked, take out of oven and cool 10 minutes and then invert onto cooling rack

- When the cake is fully cooled, wrap and set aside in refrigerator and prepare the frosting

The recipe for frosting on the website called for Mascarpone cheese. I went ahead and replaced that with cream cheese instead and did a full-on cream cheese frosting. If you prefer using mascarpone just use half cream cheese and half mascarpone in this recipe.

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting

16 to 20 oz of Cream Cheese, at room temperature

1 Cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

About 1 1/2 Cup Cold Heavy Whipping Cream

Method to prepare Cream Cheese Frosting

- Place cream cheese in a large bowl

- On medium speed of your mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth

- Add vanilla extract and combine

- Add sugar, a little at a time and mix until incorporated

- On low speed of your mixer, gradually pour in the heavy cream and mix until frosting comes to a spreading consistency. If the frosting becomes too flow-y, add sugar to stiffen it up

Decorating the Red Velvet

This is all your game really. I cut up mine into three layers and spread the frosting inside and on top. I used the tip of a rubber spatula and ran it around the top to give it that stripe-y finish and piped cream cheese on the sides.

Here are some tips for achieve a well frosted cake.

1. Tort/Level the top of the cake if it has a dome

2. Flip cake upside-down and then cut into layers. This way you will have a flat top for your final decorated cake

3. Use a frosting spatula to spread frosting on cake layers

4. While frosting top and outsides, always start by adding a generous dollop (almost all of what you have left after you frost the layers) of frosting on top and then spreading from top to bottom and then covering the sides and finally wiping off the excess from the sides

5. Never lift the spatula in the middle while spreading frosting. This is what causes peaks and valleys in the frosting

I do hope this one has ignited the festive spirit in you. Merry Christmas to you and yours and see you around New Years'!

Brown Rice Spaghetti with Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken

2011-12-11T13:48:00.001-08:00

A couple of stores in the US carry some really interesting things. Among others, I hate why Trader Joe's hasn't yet opened a store around where we live. So, every time I'd go to meet people who lived near one, I'd never miss a chance to hop by and gape at all the line-up of organic, naturally delicious stuff they stock up. I flip like a teenager in love, each and every time I see their packaging and brown bags made using recycled paper.

On one such ~~voracious~~ trip to Trader Joe's I picked up this packet of brown rice spaghetti. Following the package instructions, the first time around I cooked it and tossed it in some regular marinara sauce. No great shakes. Tasted good. But, this spaghetti was so earthy and wholesome I just had to put it to better use.

On another (not so voracious) mundane grocery shopping day, I picked up some Oscar Mayor Carving Board Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken. I could possibly eat just this thing all by itself and not want anything else with it. Randomly cut the chicken into chunks, add tomatoes, onions, lettuce, seasoned bread croutons and your favorite dressing and it is a meal in itself!

And, on another wonderful day when I really was voraciously hungry, I married the most delicious spaghetti with the best deli chicken in town and made this scrumptious lunch.

You need very few ingredients for this one but the outcome will make people thing you slogged for hours in the kitchen. You can even make this with regular pasta and deli chicken (or cooked shredded chicken). Yum is the word. Try it for yourself!

Ingredients

1/2 Packet of Brown Rice Spaghetti OR Regular spaghetti

1/2 Box of Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken, cut into random chunks OR cooked and shredded chicken

1/2 Cup Red Onions, cubed

1/2 Green Bell Pepper/Capsicum, julienned

2-3 Garlic Cloves, crushed

2-3 Scallions, cut into one inch pieces

1 tsp Pepper (Use more if desired)

Oil

And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method

- Cook spaghetti as per package instructions. (Or use these directions)

- In a wide non-stick pan, heat about 2-3 tbsp oil

- Once the oil is hot, add cubed onions and saute until tender

- Add green bell peppers and saute for another 3-4 minutes

- Toss in the scallions and stir fry

- Add chicken and stir fry for about a minute or two, since the chicken is already cooked

- Add the cooked spaghetti, salt and pepper and toss until all of the spaghetti is well mixed with the onions, peppers, scallion and the chicken

- Serve hot with a glass of red wine

Serves 2-3

Karanji | Sweetened Coconut Filled Deep Fried Crescents

2011-12-08T08:37:00.001-08:00

We're landing head-on into Christmas, and here I am, still blogging about Diwali goodies. Call me lazy, but hey, goodies are goodies - no matter when they're eaten. So, perhaps, you could make these sweet treats for your family and friends for these holidays, after all!

Now that you bought my excuse I feel a little lighter and free of guilt for not having these up around Diwali. But they're here now and they're still as good. These beautiful, crunchy crescents stuffed with sugar, coconut, cardamom and couple other things will have you clean up the platter and lick the left-over crumbs.

You can store these for over a week in an air tight container. No better reason than to stash away some right on your counter-top!

Ingredients

For the Crescents
1 1/2 Cup Maida/All purpose flour
1/4 Cup Rava/Sooji/Semolina (fine variety)
2 tbsp ghee
2 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
Oil and Water, to knead the dough

For the Filling
1 Cup Freshly grated coconut (You may use thawed frozen grated coconut as well)
3/4 Cup Sugar (Use more if you like it really sweet)
1/4 Cup Split Chana Dalia/Putane, powdered
1 tsp Cardamom seeds, crushed
1 tbsp Raisins, roasted in ghee until plump
A handful of Cashew nuts, roasted in ghee until golden and chopped
1 tsp Salt

Others
Oil, for frying

Method
- In a large non-stick wok, dry roast the maida and rava on a low flame and remove into a wide bowl for kneading
- Add sugar and salt to the roasted maida-rava mixture
- Melt ghee and pour it over the flour and knead to a stiff, yet pliable consistency (much like chapathi dough)
- When it comes together into a ball, add about 2-3 tbsp of oil and knead well
- Cover and set aside
- Mix all the ingredients for the filling in another bowl and set aside
- Now, pull out one inch wide balls of dough and roll into thin,round discs
- Spoon about 1 tbsp of filling into each disc (placing on one side helps with the next step)
- Fold over to form a crescent and seal the edges using your fingers to make 'pleats'
- Set oil on a medium flame, and when heated slowly drop karanjis/crescents into the oil
- Fry until golden brown
- Set aside fried karanjis on paper towel and allow to cool completely (They harden on cooling) and place in air-tight containers to store.

TIP - Make about 5-8 crescents at a time before frying, else they will tend to dry out

Makes around 30-40 karanjis

Cupcake Mania | Buttercream Frosting Recipe and Icing 101

2011-11-21T08:12:00.001-08:00

There's really nothing much to be said on this post. I made this for a couple of close friends when we all met up at a new vacation home in the Poconos, that one of them had bought.

It was celebration time, so cupcakes were the perfect answer.

I baked over 3 dozen egg-less cupcakes. One batch of plain vanilla, one of vanilla with chocolate chips and one of good ol' chocolate. I then made blue, white and brown buttercream frosting and decorated them.

Here's the super simple recipe to the best and most popular frosting on this planet!

Buttercream Frosting Recipe

Ingredients
1 Cup Unsalted Butter/Vegetable Shortening, at room temperature
4 Cups Confectioner's Sugar, sifted
1 tsp. Vanilla Essence (Or any other flavour that you want to use, like almond, pineapple etc.)
2 - 4 tbsp milk (Or more depending on the consistency of icing you want in the end)

Other
Icing Colours (optional; as desired)
Electric Hand Mixer (Using a whisk would just take you much, much longer)

Icing Notes

1. Using Vegetable Shortening in place of butter will ensure you have pure white buttercream frosting

2. In order to make dark brown/chocolate colored frosting you will need to substitute one cup of sugar with cocoa powder. If it turns out too thin, add more sugar since sugar stiffens icing.

Method
- Place vegetable shortening/ unsalted butter and vanilla essence in a large bowl
- Add sugar about half cup at a time and mix using the hand mixer/whisk until all the sugar is well blended
- Add milk, one teaspoonful at a time to thin the icing to desired texture and mix well
- At this point the buttercream frosting is ready and you can colour it with desired icing colours

Icing Texture Guide
a) Very Stiff/Minimal Milk usage -This type of icing takes effort to spread because of its extreme thickness. It is best for icing flowers and decorations that need to hold their shape
b) Medium Consistency - This type of icing spreads when pressure is applied but still holds shape. It is best for cake borders and icing patterns
c) Thin Consistency - This type of icing spreads very easily and is perfect to cover cakes

Adding Colour to Icing
- Icing colour comes in the form of gel. If you plan on using liquid food colouring, remember that the liquid can thin out the consistency of your buttercream icing.

- Use toothpicks to pick colour from the icing gel tub and then dip into the buttercream icing. Mix in the colour using a rubber spatula.

- If you need to add more colour, always use a new toothpick to pick the icing colour gel

I hope you found all this information helpful. I am no professional at this stuff, but all this is based on what I've read, learnt and experimented with.

And, to end this post I'd like to share a picture that I personally love the most, even with some flaws in the frosting/frosting technique.

Drool on!

Kodbale | Savory Rice Flour Rings

2011-11-12T09:25:00.001-08:00

I've been missing in action, I know. No wonder they call it the holidays out here. Diwali followed by Thanksgiving, I've been doing nothing but cook, eat and repeat!

Do you have memories associated with food? I do. Especially with kodbales. I'm in awe of all those tiny shops in India that churn out these kind of fried snacks, pack them in cellophane bags and sell them. They put a tiny white placard with the name of their store in tiny-er letters, along with details like the price and weight - all the ink smudged and oh-so-soggy with oil after having been snugly wrapped in along with the fried goodies. These little things were'nt fancy like well packaged, loudly colored snack boxes we get today, but they certainly made many memories. As a part of a after-school snack, or just something to much along on holidays,movies or picnics, they were always a hit.

I've tried recreating kodbales at home and this recipe works like a charm always. I made these during Diwali, as a part of the festive spread offered to Goddess Lakshmi. Ever since we got to the US, this has indeed been a mandatory snack because of its easy, although slightly time consuming, preparation.

I think this recipe is good enough, but somehow they did not turn up as crunchy as I intended them to be - Just about 95% there. Any suggestions are most welcome.

Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups Rice Flour
1/2 Cup Maida
3/4 Cup Rava (I used the fine variety)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin seeds
1/4 Cup dry coconut, grated
5 Dried red chillies
1 tbsp Urad Dal
1 tbsp Channa Dal
1 tbsp Ghee
Oil, for frying
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- Place a large non-stick saucepan/wok on a skillet over low flame and roast the dried red chillies, jeera, urad dal, channa dal and grated coconut, adding one at a time in the same order
- Let cool and grind into a paste using minimum water and set aside
- Now in the wok, add the rice flour, maida and rava and roast for about 5 minutes
- Toss in the cooled and ground spice/coconut paste into the roasted flours
- Add salt and mix well
- Melt ghee and pour it over the flour mixture
- Give it a minute or two (the ghee will be hot) and mix it all together
- Add water to bring the flour/spice mixture into a firm and stiff dough consistency, finally add a few tablespoons of oil and smooth it into a ball
- Heat oil in in the fryer/wok and using small portions of the dough, make 'bangles' and deep fry until golden brown
- Place on kitchen towel to soak up excess oil
- Once done frying, allow the kodbales to cool completely and then store in an air-tight container. These last for over a month, unless they're not eaten up!

Microwave Dudh Peda

2011-11-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

Let me start with a confession. This is no secret recipe. Google it and you will get umpteen links to the same one. But, here's why I made it. I wanted to try it, of course. And, it was Diwali. I heard it was a fool-proof, super-simple recipe so I got all gutsy and decided to make it anyway!

Besides, who would want to stand next to the stove waiting for humongous amounts milk to reduce when you can just pop things in the microwave and being eating pedas instead?

I personally found that the final peda, although tasted exactly like the elaborate version one, was slightly sticky to bite into. Also, the butter was on the higher side as well. You can opt to reduce about 2 tablespoons.

This was the first of my Diwali line up of sweets and savory snacks. And to say it took less time to make than to roll out into sweets would be another confession. Just three main ingredients and a microwave is all you need. So, you know what you're making the next time you crave something sweet!

Ingredients
1/2 cup (8oz) Unsalted butter
1 Can (14oz) Condensed Milk
2 Cups Milk Powder
1 tsp powdered cardamom seeds

Other
Wide microwave-safe bowl

Method
- In the microwave safe bowl , toss in the butter and melt it in the microwave
- Add the rest of the ingredients and give a good stir to mix well (The bowl remains uncovered throughout the process)
- In 30 second intervals, microwave on medium, stirring frequently to bring the ingredients together into a soft dough-like consistency
- Once all ingredients come together, set aside for about a minute or two to allow to cool a tad bit
- Grease a plate with oil/butter, and using your hands make pedas out of the mixture. Go on, taste it and you will be lying if you said it did not taste delicious!
- Decorate with dried fruit and/or nuts

DO NOT allow the mixture to rest too long because it will dry up. Cover it as you make the pedas, lest you end up having cracked ones. Has anyone come up with a solution to this? My pedas cracked up on the outsides although they were staying together.

Makes about 30 to 35 one inch wide pedas

Creamy Mushroom Farfalle with Steamed Veggies

2011-11-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

Ever come across a moment in life that changes the way you see a certain thing, person or sometimes even a situation? Among other larger such 'moments-of-change', to me is hidden this one moment that revolutionized the way I saw a little button of a thing - Mushroom. And, such was the theme for last month's Free-Spirit Bloggers. It was chosen by none other than Anupama of Love and Lentils.

Anupama challenged us to pick out a food/ingredient that we steer clear of. Something we've never liked as a child or even as a grown up and cook with it. Not to forget she asked us to have fun doing so. Here's my story keeping in mind this wonderfully challenging theme.

It would seem normal for a pure vegetarian to state he or she did not like mushrooms because of its taste and texture. But for me, being a meat-eater did nothing towards how I saw mushrooms until very recently. I must thank my very close pal, V, for introducing me to this way of cooking mushrooms. V found this recipe in some cookbook, apparently. Now, there's almost nothing to hate and everything to love when I think of mushrooms.

I love pasta, but I never for once imagined it would gain a new dimension of taste when you throw is a dash (or more, ahem!) of cream and mushrooms. I was so in love with it the day I ate it and now, I make it for lunch at least once a week (cutting back on the cream of course!). I must add my son loves this as much as I do. So, all you moms looking for a fresh new perspective on pasta - This is IT!

What's even more awesome is that you can club this with a side of fresh steamed veggies and voila what do you have? Creamy Mushroom Farfalle with Steamed Veggies!!

Pasta leaves me stumped when it comes to showing off its ability to adapt and absorb any flavour you toss it in. And this recipe is a winner, hands down. In fact, if you love mushrooms, but not pasta you GOTTA TRY THIS. You will come back to me and thank me, telling me this was your 'moment-of-change'.

Ingredients

1.5 Cups cooked Farfalle/bowtie pasta (Here's how to cook pasta)

1 Cup sliced button mushrooms

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 tbsp Unsalted butter (optional)

1/4 Cup Cream (Use more if you're feeling indulgent)

Steamed veggies (Your choice of vegetables; Optional)

1 tsp ground pepper

Grated Parmesan cheese(Optional; I've not used it here)

And, of course, some salt to taste

Method

- In a non-stick saucepan, heat butter until melted

- Add crushed garlic and stir a few seconds

- Add sliced mushrooms and stir

- Lower flame, cover and allow mushrooms to cook; About 3 minutes, stirring occasionally

- Pour cream and allow to barely come to a boil

- Toss in cooked farfalle pasta and stir until it is well coated with the creamy mushroom sauce

- Transfer to serving plate, sprinkle pepper and grated Parmesan cheese

- Serve hot along with a side of steamed vegetables

SERVES 2

See what other FSB-ites have in store for you (Will update links with more)
Lataji's Mushroom Pulav
Nags' Mung Bean Sprouts Biryani with Soy Chunks
Mridhubhashini's Bombay Chutney
Siri's Blueberry Yogurt Kanten

Diwali Greetings!

2011-10-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again. Yes, its Diwali season. I now I am about a day late, but hey, Diwali is celebrated for a good 3 days, and beyond in some cases. So, better late than never!

Happy Diwali to all you readers and bloggers out there. May the festival of lights fill you heart with joy, home with warmth and life with prosperity!

So, what did you make for Diwali? Were you asked this? I was umpteen number of times. Well, so I decided why not post something in response. I know most of you would want the recipes of these items. They're on their way. But, for now, drool on!

The simplest of all items I made - Shankarpali

Another easy to pull off sweet-dish. I wonder who ever thought about this one. It will seem like you slogged for hours, but only takes a few minutes - Microwave Dudh Peda

This one is a traditionally made item during Diwali - Karanjia

And, finally, the famous spicy snack - Kodbale

As a custom, we offer these items (called 'Faraal'), fresh fruit and a platter of all items cooked as a part of the days meal, first to God (called 'Naivedhya'). This is done as a part of the 'Puja' or prayers before we eat the same. I took a couple pictures to share with you all, and here they are.

Naivedhya

Faraal

Will share the recipes to all the Diwali snacks and sweets I've put up here, shortly. So, stay tuned and enjoy the celebrations while they last!

Masala Vada

2011-10-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

The last few months of every year come strung with festivals knit together one after another. I made these masala vadas for Dussera and we're already well into Diwali! We're all surrounded with lots of good food and festivities. Crunchy munchies and sweet delicacies adorn the counter-top of ever kitchen in an Indian household around this time of the year.

Sorry about the sad quality of the pictures here, it was raining outside and clouds barely allowed any light indoors.

These are not only made during festivals. Think about the number of times you would've stopped by the corner shop to pick up a newspaper cone filled with fresh, hot masala vadas. Yum! This one is an ode to all the delicious street food we have in India.

I have explained making these vadas using a mixer/blender. Traditionally they are stone ground and the resultant texture is simply mouthwatering. This method yields something to that effect.

Make these this Diwali along with your festive spread and watch them disappear. (Psst...Instead, keep a couple of them in the kitchen and away from the grabbing hands. Don't complain if you have nothing left for yourself in the end!)

Ingredients
1.5 Cups Channa Dal/Split Chickpeas/Split Bengal Gram Dal) - Soaked for about 6 hours
Couple sprigs of Coriander, washed and finely chopped
Couple sprigs of Dill, washed and finely chopped
2 Large Red Onions, finely chopped
5 Green chillies, finely chopped
1 inch piece of Ginger, washed, peeled and grated
Oil, for deep frying
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- Place chopped coriander, dill, red onions, green chillies and grated ginger in a large mixing bowl
- Drain away the water used to soak the channa dal and divide dal into three portions
- In the mixer/blender, place one of the three portions and use the grind option to grind the dal into a smooth paste with minimum (about 2 tablespoons or so) of water. You will have to open and stir the dal often to get a smooth mixture
- Add the smooth ground dal to the other ingredients
- Next, toss in another of the three portions of dal into the mixer and grind to a coarse texture, opening and stirring every few times you run the blender. Use lesser water this time. Don't loose patience. The vadas are almost done!
- Add the coarse ground dal to the bowl of ingredients
- Roughly grind the last portion of dal. It's ok even if you can see chunks of dal. If you're tired of the mixer/blender by now, go ahead and simply roughly chop up the soaked dal and add it to the bowl of ingredients
- Add salt and combine all ingredients
- Heat oil in a kadai/deep pan/wok
- Make 1 inch wide vadas and fry on a medium flame
- Serve hot with coriander chutney

Makes about 25 vadas

Cafe Casa | The Round-up | Free-Spirit Bloggers

2011-10-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

You've been waiting for this, I know. I'm here now, so keep those daggers down and pick up something to drink as you read on. Confused as to what to fill your cups and glasses with? Oh think no further. Allow us, the Free-Spirit Bloggers, to pamper and spoil you with ideas.

Cafe Casa was the theme for FSB all September, where I invited bloggers-on-board to make cafe inspired drinks, the ground rules being:

- Pick any coffee-based drink recipe from this listing OR choose your own from anywhere else OR conjour up your own
- Share with us your inspiration for the drink, if its your own or why you choose a certain drink
- Present it the way it would be in a Coffee Shop (Think cinnamon dusting, whipped cream etc.)
- Add a snack to accompany your drink (Optional)

That said, I did allow some jiggle-room for my FSB mates who did not like coffee too much. So, they went ahead and made cafe style drinks instead. Keep your eyes peeled for there's a host of thirst quenchers listed up here! So, what are we waiting for. Let's roll!

CAFE CASA ROUND-UP

DK of Chef In You

She's sure to have your palate tickled pink with her Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino

She suggests you down this with her Very Berry Coffee Cake. I would blindly take her advice!

Lataji of Flavours and Tastes

Even though she's not too much of a coffee person herself, she whipped up something just as sweet and cool as her. It's called Iced Caramel Macchiato.

Take a bow and glug it down with Egg-less Apple Cinnamon Muffins. It cannot get better, can it?!

Madhuri of Cook-curry Nook

You can almost never go wrong with this tall one - Frappe Mochacchino! Cold, creamy and most of all - It. Has. Chocolate.

We need not another excuse.

Want to make this a complete snack and drink party? How about some Spinach-Corn-Cheese Sandwiches on the side. Burp!

Mridhubhashini of Slurp, Chomp, Yumm!

A staunch tea lover gives us this western world version of our very Indian Masala Chai. Presenting Chai Tea Latte, made from scratch at home!

This one is certainly on my to-do list, because tea was, is and always will be my first love when it comes to beverages. And, what's more to love you ask? Well, the Glazed Lemon Blueberry Cream Scones that are peeking at you from behind that cuppa. Grab 'em now!

Siri of Cooking With Siri

Like your tea iced? How about some Ginger and Honey Iced Tea? The pictures are so inviting, you wouldn't think about NOT making this one.

I don't even know why I never looked at tea this way. Just plain superb!

Anu of Love and Lentil

I will update her offering to this theme the moment I hear from her. So, stay tuned!

Nags of Edible Garden had to excuse herself from this theme because she was traveling on work. But, I wouldn't be surprised if she surprises us. Hang tight!

And, finally my Caramel Macchiato which you already must have tried by now. If you haven't, well then I've just handed you a bunch of drinks on your to-try list. Go!!

Caramel Macchiato

2011-09-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

You knew something on these lines was coming, didn't you? If I've made caramel, then I was going to use it somewhere! Okay...Okay! You win this one time. But, there's a little thing you don't know. Ah! Now I have you're attention. So, read on.

You're aware of the Free-Spirit Bloggers by now. Well, as cliched as it may sound but time has flown by since this group of bloggers was founded. It's been a good six months. We had our share of fun making interesting appetizers, challenging bakes, imitation food and nostalgic entrees to mention a few themes from the past. This time I suggested to my buddies on the group that we should kick back and take a break. A coffee break, at that! And that was the basis of my theme.

What better way than to put all our heads together and come up with coffee based drinks served up at your favorite coffee-shop? I named this theme 'Cafe Casa', to mean that you bring the Cafe to your Casa (home) and invited all my FSB pals to bring on their best coffee-based drinks!

You will find that some of them made a snack to accompany the drink, too, so they create a very cafe like ambiance. Also, I shared this website with my friends to give them various ideas on the kind of drink they can make. But, knowing this group of bloggers, I don't think they even needed this kind of an heads-up!

So, that pretty much rounds up the theme that we FSB-ites had for September - Cafe Casa!

Here's my part of the story. Once, I am done with this, I will share links of all the other drinks (and snacks, if applicable) that all other Free-Spirit Bloggers have come up with.

I'm not sure about you, but every time I hit the lines of modern day coffee-shops my eyes are rolling all over their menu wondering and wandering like a deer that wanted to stroll in the well-known limits of the wilderness but lost its way and was left bewildered in the middle of New York City.

So, for all those wide-eyed mob of deer out there, gaping at the coffee shop menu, this month the Free-spirit bloggers are here to solve a few mysteries. Mysteries of the coffee shop! Join us as we recreate the coffee shop drinks at home without any fancy equipment. Welcome to Cafe Casa!

I'm not big coffee drinker myself. But, being raised in Bangalore, I've had my share of 'filter kaapi', especially after downing a large, butter-laden masala dosa at the next-door restaurant all my childhood. Coffee took a backseat when tea entered my life. But, all of last month I lost count of the number of coffee cups I gulped down just to make this one drink that I so love in my favorite coffee shop - Starbucks. Oh yea, S.T.A.R.B.U.C.K.S!! So fancy, so accessible and so very compelling to all of your senses. Hot or Cold. Drenched in whipped cream or just a simple latte. They have it ALL.

Over the last couple months I kept hopping in and out of every Starbucks cafe I passed by, trying different drinks they offered. Here's what pleased me the most - Caramel Macchiato. This drink is served both cold and hot. I tried the hot one on a unusually cold day in late summer and was in love with it. Light coffee (which pleases someone who likes milky coffee), sweet notes of caramel and warm frothy milk. Bliss!

So, before we jump into how to make this surreal temptation, let's get down to some history and science. First up, history.

Caramel Macchiato is a variant of the original drink called Cafe Macchiato, caramel being the extra factor (X-factor, tee hee!). Macchiato in Italian literally translates to 'stained', which refers to the way coffee/espresso is 'stained' with steamed/frothed milk.

Now, let's move on to the science of this drink - The steamed or frothed milk. Did you know steaming or frothing milk is an art that baristas across coffee-shops have to know like the back of their hands? Oh yeah. It is the very basis of a plethora of coffee based drinks. So, yes the equation for this drink is simple. Caramel + Espresso + Steamed Milk = Caramel Macchiato.

Before you conclude that you can simply whip this up in no time, think again. It took me a good gallon of reduced fat milk and about 3 weeks until I figured out the exact way to get that froth you see on top of that cuppa. Still, I'm not too satisfied with it.

I made Caramel Sauce at home, to give this drink a complete 'Homemade' tag. If you've missed that recipe, read it here. So, like I said, I was trying hard to get the foamed milk on my coffee, which means I had to first start off by learning to make Lattes, which are a combination of espresso and steamed milk.

Once, I mastered the steamed milk to a certain extent (as far as possible it was without any equipment at home), I made my first caramel macchiato which you see below. I hated why I poured it in that wine glass. It was the only one I found (before I bought what you see above) and I decided I will sip out of it anyway!

If you ask for this drink at Starbucks, they serve it with their signature caramel crosshatch on top of the foamed milk. This was something I was unable to recreate. I fumbled, stumbled and fell on my face in despair. But, well, there's always a next time!

I'll get down to the recipe now. So, now that you know this is very much a do-it-yourself fancy coffee drink, what's stopping you?

I've broken the procedure into two portions. One where you make the frothed/steamed milk and another where you put together the caramel macchiato.

When making drinks in the coffee shop, baristas use a lot of equipment, techniques, flavors, shots and appropriate proportions to make a glass/cup of a drink. Since this is a very homemade approach, I have used simple terminology and measurements such as cups, teaspoons et. al.

Frothed Steamed Milk Recipe
Recipe Sources: I found two methods on Youtube, which I've shared here and explained what I did, as well. (I followed Method 2)
Method 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Moiw7Vi_Rjw
Method 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4leislQVGA&feature=related

Ingredients
300 ml Reduced Fat Milk

Other
A microwave safe bowl/cup
A bottle with a cap that closes tightly

Method
- Warm milk in the microwave safe bowl/cup for about one minute
- Pour warm milk into the bottle and close it tightly
- Shake the bottle vigorously, using an up and down motion, like you would when you want to mix ingredients in the bottle, for about one minute
- Frothy milk will stay afloat on top
- Set aside and use when needed

Caramel Macchiato Recipe
I conjured up this recipe on my own after having it a couple of times at Starbucks. It's not 100% there, but I'd say its close to a good 90% sans the fancy caramel crosshatch.

Before we get into this recipe, I'd like to give you some information about the difference between coffee (what we call as coffee decoction in India) and espresso. These are NOT the same. Coffee is obtained when you brew roast and ground beans. So does espresso, but the similarity ends there. Coffee is loosely packed and brewed in a coffee filter/machine. Espresso on the other hand is tightly packed and brewed under high pressure, rendering a thick textured liquid with a 'crema', or light,bubbly foam on top.

Caramel Macchiato is a layered drink, and that's what I've aimed at here.

Ingredients
1/3 Cup of dark roast coffee (Since I do not possess a coffee machine, but an Indian coffee filter, I brewed a dark roast in the same to derive a rather thin coffee. But if you own a coffee machine, go ahead and and brew espresso and use just about 1/4th Cup for this recipe)
3 to 4 tbsp of Caramel Sauce (Use less or more as per your liking for the amount of sweetness in your drink)
1/4 tsp Vanilla Essence
Frothed/Steamed Milk (as much as you make from the method above)

Method
- Make hot coffee/espresso and measure out 1/3 OR 1/2 Cup, respectively
- Add vanilla to the hot coffee/espresso
- Make Frothed/Steamed milk as per the above method and set aside
- In the serving glass, spoon in the caramel at the bottom
- Slowly pour the milk-part of the frothed milk (Hold a spoon against the mouth of the bottle so as to keep the froth from falling into the glass). The milk will stay on top of the thick caramel sauce
- Now, gradually pour the hot coffee/espresso in the glass and watch the colors of the coffee and milk mingle while the caramel stays intact. It's a beautiful sight!
- Top off with with the froth and serve

Drinking Tip - Stir before drinking to mix in the caramel OR better yet, drink as is with a straw and enjoy the marriage of the flavors in your mouth!

Makes one tall, it-calls-my-name glass of caramel macchiato. Perfect for fall or just whenever you're in the mood.

I will update this post with what the other FSB-ites have for you as soon as they have their posts up. So make yourself a caramel macchiatio and stick around for some coffee action!

Homemade Caramel Sauce

2011-09-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

Hot chocolate fudge, rainbow sprinkles, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, peanut butter, nuts, fruit and the like - Please step aside. Welcome the queen of all dessert toppings - Caramel syrup. Golden and royal from head to toe, need she do anything to woo you? Svelte like velvet and sweet as sugar, you'd be lying if you said you were not in love with her - Again!

I'd be lying if I said this was my own concoction. But, yes, I did mix up two recipes to make this wonderful sauce. One from one of my favorite Food Network Chefs, Ina Garten (Recipe here) and another from yet another Food Network Chef, Anne Burrell (Recipe video here).

I know you're wondering what the waffles are doing with the syrup. Shouldn't it be ice cream there? Boy oh boy, you're right. But, I could not wait to eat the syrup and paired them with whatever I had on hand.

Chef Garten has not added butter in her recipe, but I opted to have it in for extra creamy texture. Chef Burrell added lemon juice and corn syrup both of which I opted not to add. The end result was good. So, its up here for grabs!

Now, before you come to a conclusion that this recipe is made by chefs and it's something not in your capacity. Think twice. Or even thrice! I mean, you're going to have a whole jar of caramel sauce at your disposal, and here's the best part - ONLY FOUR INGREDIENTS!! Just as Chef Anne Burrell says in all her shows "You certainly don't have to be a restaurant chef to cook like one".

As a prelude to this recipe, I 'd like to mention that I made a very scanty amount of caramel sauce since I was only trying out something new. Go ahead and multiply the proportions of the ingredients for more a sauce-y experience!

Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp water
- 1/2 Cup + 1 tbsp Heavy Cream
- 1 tbsp Unsalted butter

Method
- Mix water and sugar in a heavy bottom sauce pan and place on low flame
- Increase flame to medium-high and allow sugar to melt. DO NOT STIR
- As sugar caramelizes/turns a golden brown hue (about 5 to 7 minutes) give the mixture a twirl and turn off flame. The sugar-water mixture will be really bubbly and very hot at this point
- Turn off flame
- Pour in heavy cream and stand back since the solution will now bubble very rapidly
- Return to a low flame, pop in the butter and stir until all ingredients mingle together to a luscious brown syrup
- Take off from flame and pour into bowl and allow to cool
- The caramel syrup will thicken as it cools

Makes about 1 Cup about sinful caramel sauce

Baked Coconut Bites - Modak Makeover (Egg-less)

2011-09-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

To say Lord Ganeshji is the most adaptable would be an understatement. He's been disguised into so many avatars by us humans every year when Ganesh Chaturti comes along. Ambedkar Ganapati, Cycle Ganapati, Computer Ganapati... I mean seriously?! God really has patience with us humans for all the antics we show him.

With all that said, every year, we all serve him with the one thing that's considered his favourite food - Modak. I personally love modaks, too. I made them for Ganesh Chaturti (and forgot to click pics to post it here, but will make it for you all again soon!) and they were over in the blink of an eye even with a minor glitch in them.

But here's what happened. I ended up having extra Modak filling. Plus, like I mentioned earlier about the slight mistake I'd done - I had used shredded dry coconut instead of grated dry coconut and my filling turned out to be very dry. Still, I'd say the modaks tasted good because the jaggery/gud melted when the modaks were steamed.

So, what do you do when you have left-over Modak filling? Of course, eating it up as is can be one idea. But, how about transforming it into something else? Like these crunchy baked coconut bites?

Now, we're talking. And, you agree don't ya? These coconut-y bites are so easy to make you could even use your gooey modak filling for the same as well. Just add more flour to aid in binding. I know Ganesh Chaturti was over two weeks ago. But hey, won't you just make that filling again to eat these crunchy munchies??

Ingredients
- 2 1/2 heaping cups of modak filing (OR 1 3/4 Cup shredded coconut and 1 1/4 Cup Powdered jaggery mixed together along with 1/4 Cup powdered split chana dalia/putane)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 Cups flour (Use more in case the dough is not binding)
- 1/2 Cup Milk
- 1/2 Cup Cooking oil

Method
- Preheat oven to 350F and line cookie/baking sheet with parchment/wax paper
- Simply mix all ingredients in a large bowl until homogeneous
- Drop spoonfuls of dough on to prepared baking sheet with a one inch space in between any two bites
- Bake for about 15 minutes or slightly spring-y to touch. Do not over-bake as they burn quickly
- Cool on wire-rack completely before serving

Makes 24 coconut bites

Grilled Shrimp Kababs

2011-09-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

We're really not big seafood eaters. But, when it comes to shrimp we'd go the extra mile to make it. Not the curried/gravied (if there's a word like that) ones. We don't go there. We like oil, really. Ahem! Shrimp. Even if it comes deep-fried, packed with calories and bread crumbs alike. Now, like many other things that change, this frenzy of fried shrimp changed too - Ever since we bought our indoor grill! I've made grilled chicken cutlets and veggie seekh kababs, to name a few things I've thrown over the fancy gadget. I really want to use it a lot more. So, keep your eyes hooked on to SSTT.

But, for now let me serve you some Grilled Shrimp Kababs. Succulent, spicy and just made for those lazy weekend lunches when you want to do less in the kitchen and catch up with you favorite shows on TV.

You can make this using the regular conventional oven, too. I've explained that process in the recipe as well.

This one is so easy to put together, you'd be running to buy shrimp the moment you're done reading this super-short reicpe.

Ingredients

50-60 Shrimp (tail-off), peeled, de-veined, washed

Vegetables (I've used Tomato, Onion and Green Pepper) cut into 1 inch squares

For the marinade

1 tsp Turmeric powder

3-4 tsp Chillie powder (or per taste)

2 tsp Coriander/Dhania powder

1 tsp Garam Masala powder

1 tbsp Ginger paste

1 tbsp Garlic paste

1/4 Cup Yogurt/curd

2 tbsp Lemon juice

And, of course, some salt to taste!

Other stuff you'll need

Grill/Conventional oven

5-6 bamboo skewers soaked in water

Method

- Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a zip-top bag and shake until well mixed

- Toss in the shrimp, vegetables and give another good shake to coat everything inside

- Marinate for a good 4-6 hours, or even longer if you have the time

- Preheat grill/oven. If using oven, preheat to 400F

- Thread marinated shrimp and vegetables over skewers in any pattern you wish and place on hot grill. In the oven place them over baking sheet lined with tin foil

- DO NOT throw away remaining marinade

- Keep flipping and basting the shrimp with leftover marinade and grill/bake until done

- Serve hot with a tall glass of fizzy raspberry lemon cooler

Makes about 5-6 skewers with around 10 shrimp on each

Hurricane Cupcakes | Egg-less Mocha Cream Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-09-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

Did you know a woman named her child Tsunami because he was born when the natural disaster occurred? Well, I know its personal taste, but, really?! I thought it was bordering on absurd. I mean tsunamis are dangerous, to say the least.

But when hurricane Irene decided to spend the weekend with us not too long ago, I was thinking of things more than dangerous. With hurricane warnings all over town, packed grocery stores, no bottled/packaged water and no flashlights available anywhere, Ms. Irene sure had pressed the run-for-your-life button in all of us along the East Coast.

Now, where was I? Yes, the woman who named her child Tsunami. Well, I did something sorta similar. But, before you get ideas and think I renamed my son 'Irene' and categorize me as a maniac...listen up!

I decided to celebrate that we survived Irene. No power outage, no flooding, no evacuation orders, no broken homes around our area and to top the list we were still alive! Oh yes, go ahead and call me a chicken all you want, but, I was freaked out.

But, we really lucked it out don't you think? And, yes, the oven was still working. So why not bake? I mean you could not go out, no traffic allowed on roads, trees ripped apart, heavy winds, flood warnings and you certainly don't want to see more of the graphic hurricane representation but you do want to eat good food. That's when I whipped up these egg-less mocha cream chocolate cuppies with my friend, DS. We had a great time baking, frosting and eating 'em up.

Need more inspiration than a hurricane to bake these? Try these cupcakes and top them off with Chocolate Ganache (Recipe here), fresh cut strawberries and mint.

Before I proceed to the recipe, I'd like to let you know that this recipe originally belongs to my friend Madhuri Kumar. It's an egg-less, butterless 5 minute chocolate cake made in the microwave. I have lost count of the number of times I've made it. Need I say more to have you enter your kitchen?

I tried this cake earlier, as an experiement the first time around, with Chocolate Syrup instead of Cocoa powder. The results with this change were good and yielded a very rich, super-moist cake. But, I like this version better.

Here, I've followed the exact same recipe as the original, but baked it in the conventional oven instead of a microwave. Why? Two reasons. One, I have a non-stick metal muffin pan which cannot be put in the microwave and we badly wanted to eat cupcakes and cupcakes ALONE. And, reason number two is to have the sinful smell of chocolate baking into something heavenly in your oven. This is something I'd not mind - Anytime!

Ingredients for the cupcakes
1 1/4 Cups All purpose flour/Maida
1/3 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
3/4th tsp Baking Powder
1/3rd tsp Baking Soda
1.5 tsp Vanilla essence
3 tsp Flax seed powder mixed in 3/4 cup warm water (substituting 3 eggs)
1/3 Cup Milk(I used whole milk)
1/3 Cup Cooking Oil (I used Corn Oil)
A pinch of salt

Method
- Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin tray with baking cups
- Sift the flour into a large preparation bowl
- Add the brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, salt and mix until homogenous
- Slowly stir in the milk, oil and vanilla essence to make a smooth batter making sure there are no lumps
- Pour the flax seed powder mixed in warm water and mix well to make a silky textured cake batter
- Spoon the batter into baking cups
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean from the center for your cupcakes
- Once ready, immediately remove cupcakes from the muffin pan and cool completely on a cooling rack. Allowing cupcakes to cool in the hot muffin pan will get them over-baked, dry and crusty.

Ingredients for Mocha Cream Frosting
1 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Cup Confectioner's sugar
1.5 tbsp Instant Coffee powder (I used Nescafe)
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

Method
(Chill mixer blades and mixing bowl prior to whipping for better results)
- Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl
- Whip on a medium-low speed until cream forms soft peaks
- Chill for about 30 minutes
- Fill whipped mocha cream into piping bags fitted with open star tip
- Pipe onto cupcakes using circular motion, starting from the center

I used a small cupcake liner and this made about 12-15 petite cupcakes, just perfect to fix that 3 o'clock chocolate craving.

Paneer Butter Masala

2011-09-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

Siri Pulipaka decided this months theme for us, Free-Spirit Bloggers. To say she took us down memory lane is one thing, but here's what she did. She left us there to wander about all those memories and the restaurants we'd visit as children. And, the most important thing she made us do: Re-live the moments in that restaurant eating the one dish that always made its way to the waiter's order note-pad.

For me it's always been Paneer Butter Masala. The moment we'd grab our seats in any restaurant, the one thing we knew we were going to order was this. Everything else did not even matter. I still remember us driving up to the Karnataka State Billiards Association (KSBA) on weekends for Bingo Nights. I was very young to understand the game. So I'd sit there munching on appetizers, trying to understand the game, telling Dad and Mom I see the number on their sheets, knowing well what followed for dinner.

While I spent all of my childhood and teenage years, gorging down this North Indian delicacy, things changed after I stepped into wed-lock. Once I learnt the basics around the kitchen, I wanted to, for certain, learn to make this favourite. I still remember the very first time I made it (a pretty home-y version sans cashews and cream) and was super excited. Almost as if I had created a new being or something. Then on, I explored various ways of making paneer butter masala - From recipe books, magazines and the internet. I've come down to one recipe, a combination of a little bit of everything I've read. And, this one works every time and gets me the results I'm looking for.

Mildly spiced, creamy cashew sauce with succulent paneer cubes. What wouldn't go with it? Roti - Yes! Naan - Yes! Kulcha - Yes! Plain white/brown bread - Yes! Rice - Yes. In fact, I could down bowls of Paneer Butter Masala all by itself!!

Ingredients

10 to 12 oz. Fresh paneer, cubed (Use as much as you like, really!)

2 Cups (approx. 1.5 medium sized) tomatoes, cubed
3 Cups (approx 2 medium sized) onions, cubed
1/2 Cup Tomato puree
1.5 cups Cashew nuts
1 inch Cinnamon stick
3 Dried red chillies

4-5 cloves of Garlic, peeled

1 tbsp Kasuri Methi/ Dried fenugreek leaves

1.5 tsp. Garam masala powder
1 tbsp Coriander/Dhania powder
1/2 tbsp Cumin/Jeera powder

1/2 tsp. Haldi/Turmeric powder

2 tbsp Heavy Cream (optional)
1 sprig of fresh Coriander, for garnishing

1 tbsp Butter (Use more if you like)

2 tbsp Oil

And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wide saucepan and add garlic and red chilles, stirring for a few seconds

- Toss in the cashew nuts and stir until they turn slightly brown on the outsides

- Add onions, fry until translucent

- Add tomatoes, fry until all the moisture content evaporates

- Throw in the kasuri methi and stir fry this mixture for about 5 minutes

- Set aside and allow to cool

- Place paneer cubes in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes. This allows them to soften and retain softness in the gravy. I do not normally fry paneer cubes before I add them to any dish. You could opt to do so by shallow frying the paneer in butter and setting aside
- Grind the cooled cashew-onion-tomato mixture to a smooth paste and set aside
- Heat the butter in a non-stick saucepan and add garam masala powder, coriander powder and cumin powder and stir
- Add the ground cashew-onion-tomato and the tomato puree to thin its consistency
- Add salt and stir on a low-medium flame for about 2 minutes
- Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the mixture cooks
- Add water until desired consistency is reached
- Drain water off the paneer and toss in the paneer cubes and stir
- Cover and simmer for another 3 minutes. You could add some cream to thicken the gravy at this point, before covering
- Pour in serving bowl and garnish with cream and a sprig of coriander. I haven't added the cream in my recipe/garnish

Serves 4-6

Looking for more restaurant favourites? Look no further. The other FSB-ites - Madhuri, Siri, Nags, Lataji, Anu and Mittu - have the best of the best up for you. Hop on to each of their blogs and grab the recipes!

Rava Dosa with Pudina Chutney | Savory Semolina Pancakes with Mint Chutney

2011-08-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about the best days of the week. Yes, you guessed it right! Weekends are always about relaxing. And, heralding every weekend is a hearty breakfast that follows a late night of Friday fun with friends and family or all by yourself watching a flick - Your pick! But, wait a minute! Did I just hear you say - "What do I make for breakfast?". And, you dare not answer yourself with something as mundane as cereal with milk, or worse a store-bought slice of bread or a bagel thrown under a dollop of self-proclaimed low-fat, imitation butter.

Of course, all these are quick fix breakfast solutions for on-the-run weekdays. In fact, I myself gorge these down as if the world is coming to a close every morning. But, what if one day the cereal and bread aisles in the supermarket vanished. Zap!

Ok, let's not make it sound that bad. But here's what - I always make sure I make something elaborate for breakfast on weekends imagining there's no bread. Oh and yes, no frozen breakfasts, too! That way you are not only satisfying your taste-buds with some fresh, home-made food but can also go light on lunch and dinner. Isn't that just what more researchers say? See, I wasn't wrong anyway. Ok, ok. So much for my justification. But, here's my point - Make Rava dosa with pudina chutney. I can see you salivating. Go grab the ingredients. Even if its not the weekend, just go!

Ingredients for Rava Dosa (Savory Semolina Pancakes)

3/4 Cup Rava/Semolina (Coarse or fine, not roasted)

1/2 Cup Rice Flour

1/4 Cup Maida/All-purpose flour

2-3 Green chillies, finely chopped
2 sprigs of fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin seeds
1 tbsp Dry coconut flakes, finely chopped (Optional)
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- In the blender, combine the rava, rice flour and maida with about 3 cups of water and run on medium speed until you have a thin, runny batter. It should be almost watery, something to the effect of a thin, yet smooth textured sauce.
- In a bowl, toss in the green chillies, coriander, cumin seeds, coconut flakes and salt
- Pour the ground batter in the bowl and stir
- Heat a non-stick skillet, and pour a teaspoon of oil and swirl it around to evenly coat the skillet
- Using a round ladle splatter the batter (rhymes!) on the surface of the skillet to cover it completely. Most rava dosas are never round, so don't worry too much about the shape. Just make sure you have thin later of batter all over the skillet
- Turn flame to medium-high and add another dash of oil and allow to cook/lightly brown on one side
- Flip to cook on the other side
- Serve hot with Pudina Chutney (Recipe follows)

NOTE - If you are planning on storing the batter (which keeps for about 2-3 days in the refrigerator), add more water before using if it has thickened due to the presence of the rava/semolina.

Ingredients for Pudina Chutney (Mint Chutney)
1 Handful Mint Leaves, washed
2-3 Sprigs of Coriander, washed
3 Cloves of Garlic, peeled
3 Green chillies
1/2 tbsp Tamarind pulp
1/2 inch piece of Ginger, peeled
1/4 Cup onion, cubed
1/2 Cup grated coconut
1/2 Cup Chana Dalia/Phutane
And, of course, some salt to taste!

For Seasoning
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
4-5 Curry leaves
A dash of Hing/Asafoetida

Method
- Grind all the ingredients together with minimum water in the mixer until smooth
- Pour into serving dish
- To season, heat oil and toss in mustard seeds
- Once they splutter add the curry leaves and hing and stir for a few seconds and add over prepared chutney

SERVES - 3 to 4

Honey Roasted Sweet Peppers And Mango With Ricotta Ice Cream

2011-08-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Yes. We raised the bar. The Free-Spirit Bloggers just decided to take things to a completely different level along with a little bit of a gambling, too. How is that for a little summer-time fun?

This time Lata Raja choose the theme. We were all to make sweet-dishes or desserts using just about any mode of cooking we liked. So? You ask, 'What's so great about that?'. But, hold on. Here is the twist. She asked us to choose numbers between 1 and 12. To each of these numbers she had put down the most unusual combination of ingredients that one would make a sweet dish out of, on a spreadsheet that she had not shared with us.

So (virtually) blindfolded, each FSB member picked her choice of number(s). Once all of us were 'numbered', we got to see the list. When the ingredients were revealed, I was more than a little baffled. Then, left in amusement and awe. Then in deep thought. Lastly, action followed and here is what I made using what I had chosen - Sweet Peppers along-side fruit and nuts.

Here's a peek at what other choices Lataji had on her list:

1. Bottle gourd/ Marrow/ Zucchini (Cinnamon/Cardamom flavouring)
2. Tapioca/ Arrowroot starch (Zest of lemon or Orange/Juice)
3. Tomatoes (Vanilla)
4. Barley (Coffee/ fruit)
5. Quinoa (Raisins, Fruit juice)
6. Noodles/ Pasta (Dark chocolate)
7. Buckwheat (Cheese/ Paneer)
8. Sweet peppers (Nuts and dry fruits)
9. Sweet corn (Cream)
10. Corn meal/ Polenta (Coffee/ Orange)
11. Black currants/ Pomegranates (Caramel/ White Chocolate)
12. Chick peas or mung beans (Saffron/ Pistachios)

Oh yea, I did away with the nuts because there was already so much going on here. Besides, it was optional. Well, well if you really want to add nuts, just throw in some slivered almonds on top!

I knew my toughest enemy to make a sweet treat out of this would be dealing with the bold flavor of the sweet-peppers. I had to do something different to make the peppers show me their 'sweet' side, quite literally! Pacing through my mind were various ways I could do this. Saute the peppers and make a halwa? Grind to a puree with cream and sugar and make a popsicle? And just then, like a brainwave I remembered this wonderful recipe I had watched on Food Network. Chef Claire Robinson had made Roasted Figs with Fresh Ricotta on her popular show Five Ingredient Fix. I drew inspiration from this recipe and created what I would like to call Honey Roasted Sweet Peppers and Mango with (not just Ricotta, but...) Ricotta Ice Cream!

I'd like to split the recipe into two. First, we'd learn to make the honey roasted sweet peppers and mango. Later, we'd dive into the Ricotta ice cream.

Read on!

Ingredients for Ricotta Ice Cream (I followed this recipe to a large extent)

2 Cups Fresh Whole Milk Ricotta

1 Cup Powdered/Confectioner's Sugar

1 1/3 Cup Heavy Cream

Method

- Whip heavy cream to soft peaks

- Blend ricotta and sugar in a food processor/blender until smooth. You could add a spoon or two of cream/water to get the contents in the blender moving

- Transfer the ricotta-sugar mixture to a large bowl

- Fold the whipped cream through the ricotta-sugar mixture until fully combined

- Pour into a freezer safe container and freeze for about 6 to 8 hours

Ingredients for the Honey Roasted Sweet Peppers and Mango

1 Cup Mini Sweet Peppers - Washed, cored of all the seeds and julienned
1 Mango - Washed, peeled and diced to half inch cubes
1/4 Cup loosely packed brown sugar
2 tbsp Unsalted butter
1/4 Cup Honey

Method
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Apply butter on the insides of an oven safe dish and place the julienned sweet peppers and diced mangoes in the same
- In a saucepan, melt butter on a low flame
- Add brown sugar and honey and stir until it forms a golden syrup
- Pour syrup over sweet peppers and mango and toss until completely covered in honey -brown sugar syrup
- Place in pre-heated oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the sweet peppers shrivel up and the honey-brown sugar syrup is all bubbly

To Serve
- Scoop ricotta ice cream into serving bowls
- Top with warm honey roasted sweet peppers and mango and the honey-brown sugar syrup
- Garnish with mint and serve

Makes 6-8 servings

Here's a peek at what the other FSB-ites served up this month and don't complain if they left you drooling!

Lata Raja - Apple and Strawberry Crumble with Barley Flour
Madhuri - Sweet Corn Panna Cotta
Mittu - Quinoa Raisin Muffins with Lime-curd Frosting
Nags - White Chocolate Pomegranate Cupcakes

Siri - Cornmeal Orange Cookies

DK - Eggless Chocolate Tapioca Pudding

Anu - Buckwheat Ice Cream

Free-spirit Bloggers

2011-07-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

This post has been long pending. Nearly 3 months up, really. Too bad I did not have time to do justice to this elite group I've been a part of, and enjoying every bit of it.

So, if you're already not aware of us, we are the Free-Spirit Bloggers (FSB). Who? Well, eight food bloggers whom Madhuri Kumar decided on putting together into a closed group dedicated to one soul purpose - Having fun with food!

Just another monotonous day was in progress for me, when Madhuri pinged me and told me about this brilliant idea she had. We make a group of food bloggers and every month each of us pick a theme and cook up together! That made my day - Sounded to me like great fun and most certainly so to the other well established bloggers we have on board today, too. Who are they? Here you go! (In no particular order or preference)

1. Madhuri Kumar (Mads)- My school-mate and a very, very good friend. Social networking and blogging brought us back in touch and now we've come to times where we cannot pass a day without chatting with each other and fueling one another with the craziest of ideas...oh and yes, not to mention, sharing the same wave-length, too. To be very honest, she's the one to get the food-blogger in me all fired up - My inspiration!

2. Siri Pulipaka - I'd been seeing her name on blogosphere for the longest time. Got to know her once we formed FSB. She's recently moved to Bangalore from the US and has the company of Madhuri. I am SO J of you two!

3. Dhivya Karthik (DK)- The stalwart blogger in the food-blogging arena. I've been reading her recipes and posts ever since I started blogging, and she certainly rocks!

4. Anupama Gobalan (Anu)- Another blogger who I'd come across time and again, but go to know better after FSB came into the picture. She writes amazingly well. So it simply goes without saying that her recipes are very easy to follow - She'll take you every step of the way like a baby. With pictures to leave you drooling like a baby at the end of it all, too!

5. Nagalakshmi Viswanathan (Nags)- An experienced blogger and photographer based out of Singapura. Just take a look at what she has on her blog. I need not say another word then on.

6. Lata Raja (Lataji)- The sweetest person you'd ever meet. At least in my case, virtually. It's amazing how she delivers thing way ahead of time. Enthusiastic and charming. That's Lataji for you!

7. Mridhu Mohan (Mittu) - The newbie blogger on the block. She's certainly an amazing cook and that she's on FSB just proves it all, again and again!

8. Deepti Pawar - Well, well! You know who this is.

So, finally I have some place where I can lead you all to when I talk about FSB on my blog. I do hope you all enjoy the ride as much as us. Loads of interesing recipes coming your way. So, stay hooked!

Fizzy Raspberry Lemon Cooler

2011-07-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

When God gives you lemons, don't just make lemonade. Get on your feet and go hunting for raspberries. Oh and yes, on your way back make a pit-stop at the grocery store and pick up a bottle of lemon-y soda/Seltzer water. What next? Oh come on, make yourself this fizzy raspberry lemon cooler, kick up your feet and chill on your patio.

Would you believe where I got the inspiration to make this drink? The radio! Hum Desi radio, a popular radio station that caters to Indians in the US has show where they give out recipes. How cool is that? I happened to listen to a portion of this recipe just before I pulled up at the parking lot to pick up my son after his school. I just built upon whatever I heard and came up with this super cool beverage. You just gotta try it!

Ingredients
- 10 to 12 Raspberries, washed
- Juice of two lemons (about 1/2 Cup)
- 1 Cup Simple Syrup (Method to make it follows)
- 2 large cans of Lemon flavored soda OR Seltzer water (about 24 fl. oz.)

Method
- In order to make the Simple Syrup combine about 3/4 cup of water and 3/4 cup of sugar in a saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring continuously until the sugar dissolves. Cool completely before use.
- Once the simple syrup has cooled down to room temperature, add lemon juice to it and stir
- Crush washed raspberries and add this to the lemony simple syrup. (The original recipe called for pureeing the raspberries and straining them to remove the seeds and the pulp. That's just when I reached my destination and so I decided to shake things up a little with this drink)
- Refrigerate this mixture until ready to serve. This can be stored for up to a week in the refrigerator
- To serve, pour about 1/4 Cup of the pulpy raspberry lemon-y syrup in a glass. Top off with chilled lemon flavored soda or seltzer water/club soda/soda water/carbonated water (Woah! So many names for one thing, eh?!). I used lemon flavored soda to enhance the taste of the cooler. Do your own thing!
- Garnish with mint and serve with a slice of lemon. Glug! What follows is a dive into what one may call a crisp, refreshing adventure into the raspberry fields!

Makes about three to four ~8 fl. oz. coolers

Grilled Veggie Seekh Kabab

2011-06-30T00:20:00.000-07:00

Summer's here. Almost synonymous with blazin' hot grills, chilled soda, sun-hats, flip-flops and most certainly a whole lot of fun. The mention of the grill would've probably had you thinking of charcoal burning and meat sizzling away on the heat. But, no. This summer, how about going green? All of us could do with an extra serving of veggies. And, what better way to get them in than make vegetarian versions of popular non-vegetarian dishes? That's what we Free-Spirit Bloggers have in store for you this month.

All of us have in store veggie versions of recipes that normally are made using meat, poultry and/or seafood - all of which also look non-veggie, too. Hmm! Now, that's reason enough to skim through all our blogs, eh? I'll give you just the place where you can get all of this, so you can take a look at what the other Free-Spirit Bloggers are upto, but before that take a peek at what I have in store for you. I decided to take this month's theme a notch further and do away with much of the oil/grease that normally accompanies non-vegetarian dishes. So, the gill was the answer! Whatcha waitin' for? Better not be Christmas - It's way too far to have your mouth drooling the way it is! Go and turn on your grill and gorge on some grilled veggie seekh kababs.

No grill? No fret! Cook your seekh kababs either on a non-stick skillet by basting with oil. Or better yet, pop them in a pre-heated conventional oven and viola!

Ingredients

4 Cups Vegetables - Washed, peeled and finely chopped/minced. I used broccoli, carrots, beans, cauliflower and cabbage. Use a food chopper/processor if you have one, so as to get super-fine, almost minced vegetables
2-3 medium/large potatoes - Washed, peeled and grated
2 Cups Paneer - Grated
3 tbsp Garlic paste
3 tbsp Ginger paste
3 tsp Garam Masala powder
3 tsp Dhaniya/coriander powder
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin powder
3 tsp Red chillie powder (adjust as needed)
A pinch of red food colouring (optional)
Cornflour (as needed during preparation)
Oil, for basting
Wooden skewers/seekhs
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- Soak wooden skewers in water, so as to avoid food sticking onto them whilst cooking/grilling
- Heat about 1 tsp of oil in a large wok/kadai and stir fry the minced vegetables until slightly cooked
- In a large bowl, place grated potatoes and press to remove excess water
- Drain away the water content and add paneer
- Toss in the slightly cooked, minced vegetables
- Add salt, garam masala, dhaniya powder, red chillie powder, jeera powder, ginger paste, garlic paste and red food colouring and mix well to form a homogeneous mixture
- Add corn flour, a little at a time, so as to wick all the moisture from the vegetable mixture allowing it to bind together when rolled over a seekh/skewer. You should end up having a dough-like consistency to the veggie mixture that you can make the kababs. Just make sure you do not add too much flour, else you will have hard kababs
- Roll veggie mixture onto skewers/seekhs and place on pre-heated grill
- Grill until thoroughly cooked from inside-out on medium heat, basting occasionally with a few drops of oil. Takes about 15-20 minutes
- Serve hot with lemon wedges and chutney/sauce of your choice

Makes 5-7 large seekh kababs

Looking for vegetarian versions of non-veggie recipes? I can give you not one, not two, nor three...but seven more. Yes, all of which will be up on Dhivya Karthik's blog very soon. She decided this months theme for us Free-Spirit Bloggers, so don't forget to check out Chef In You when you're hungry the next time.

Strawberries and Cream Popsicles

2011-06-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

100 posts and 2 years. And, as if that wasn't reason enough to celebrate, I bought myself a Popsicle maker. Pretty obviously, I had to inaugurate it. And, I did.

May 2010 was when SSTT entered her third year of life. Woot! I never believed I'd come this far with my blog. But, yes I have. Within two years, I've gained a lot more experience in blogging, many more co-blogger friends and certainly learnt so much more in the kitchen. At this moment, I was seriously considering deleting some of my initial posts (my first post being a simple version of Bhel Puri) because they all look so pathetic. Later, it struck me that I'd rather not. It is only when I have those old, badly written, terribly structured and picturized posts (not that I'm very good at pictures even now, but, I'm learning!) that I realize how far I've come in this culinary journey. Of course, thanks to all you readers out there and most certainly to all those of you who go ahead and try the recipes I share with you on SSTT.

Definitely, a little something to celebrate ought to be sweet. With temperatures soaring, all I could think of was a frozen treat. My little sonny enjoyed it to the hilt; I just had to take pictures of him gorging down these strawberries and cream popsicles.

You can even see the little orange bowl in which he loves to keep his munch-ables, whilst eating anything.

Ingredients

10-12 strawberries, washed, hulled and quartered

1 Cup heavy cream

2 tbsp thick yogurt

1/2 Cup sugar (or as per your taste)

Method

- Add all ingredients in food chopper/blender/processor and run on medium/high speed until everything has blended in to a creamy texture

- Pour in popsicle maker and freeze for about 6-8 hours

- When ready to serve, douse popsicle maker in warm water for about 30-50 seconds and gently remove popsicles

Makes 4 mouthwatering popsicles

Home-style Vegetable Biryani

2011-06-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

It always leaves me amused, how my son would gorge down an entire plate of peas pulao at a restaurant buffet and make faces when I make the same thing at home. How can something that's gone cold and was probably made many hours before it made its way to his mouth taste better than the same thing made fresh and served piping hot at home?

Isn't it pretty wild how the same dish prepared by two families, or even two different people in the same household, can taste entirely different. Sometimes, even when the recipe followed is the same. On par with this thought, I put forth my version of the famous one-pot meal, Vegetable Biryani.

Biryanis are so versatile and each person tends have their own ways of making it. Some make it from scratch and some by purchasing store-bought biryani mixes. It is made either with meat, chicken, seafood or vegetables. No matter in what way it is prepared, this will always be a delicious part of any meal...or better yet, make a meal in itself!

While in most cases we prepare non-vegetarian biryani from scratch at home, every once in a way I give my vegetables a chance to treat themselves to this delicacy. So, one Sunday I dished up Vegetable Biryani and Chicken Chettinad as an accompaniment. Who can ask for a better weekend luncheon?

Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups Basmati Rice, washed and soaked in water
1 1/2 Cups Choice of vegetables, washed and chopped (I used carrots, cauliflower and green beans)
1 Cup Fresh fenugreek/methi leaves, washed and finely chopped
1 Cup Fresh mint/pudina leaves, washed and finely chopped
1/2 Cup Fresh coriander/dhaniya leaves, washed and chopped
3 Green chillies, washed and slit/chopped
1 1/2 Cup Chopped Onion(s)
1 1/2 Cup Chopped Tomatoe(s)
5-6 cloves of Garlic, peeled and crushed
1 inch piece of Ginger, peeled and minced/grated
1 tbsp. Ginger-Garlic paste
1/4 piece Black Cardamom/Badi elaichi
2 pieces Green Cardamom/Elaichi
1 petal of a Star anise/Badian
2 Bay leaves/Tej patta
3 Cloves/Lavang
1 tsp. Dried fenugreek leaves/Kasuri Methi
1 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
2 tsp. Red chillie powder (Adjust as per your taste)
2 tsp. Garam Masala powder
4 tsp. Coriander/Dhaniya powder
4 tsp. Yogurt
1/4 Cup Clarified Butter/Ghee OR Oil (I know this seems like a lot... but go with it! Add 10 minutes to your next day's workout.)
1 Spring of Coriander/Mint, for garnish
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- In a bowl, stash all your washed and chopped vegetables
- Top off with 1/2 tsp. turmeric, 1 tsp. Red chillie powder, 1 tsp. coriander/Dhaniya powder, 1 tsp. Garam masala powder and all of the yogurt
- Mix well and set aside. You basically just marinate your vegetables in spiced yogurt
- In a heave guage, deep cooker/cook-pot/vessel, pour the clarified butter(ghee)/oil and turn on flame to medium-high
- Once the ghee/oil is slightly warm, add the bay leaves, black cardamom, cloves, star anise and green cardamom and stir until fragrant, taking care not to burn these spices
- Toss in the green chillies and stir
- Add onions, fresh ginger and fresh garlic and stir until onions turn translucent
- Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute
- Add garam masala powder and stir for another minute, until the aroma of the spices and onions hovers all over you
- Toss in the finely chopped fenugreek, mint and coriander leaves and stir fry until they all wilt and join the party
- Drop in the chopped tomatoes and fry until all the moisture from them evaporates and you can see ghee/oil starting to separate from this concoction
- Add the rest of the dry spices (turmeric, garam masala, coriander powder, red chillie powder) and continue to fry on a medium flame, making sure you do not burn the ingredients. Add a few spoons of water if you feel the mixture/masala is burning
- Now, add the vegetables marinated in the spiced yogurt and mix well
- Add salt
- Stir fry on a medium flame until all the vegetables get partially cooked/about 4-5 minutes
- Drain away the water from the washed and soaked Basmati rice and toss in the rice to the cooking pot
- Stir fry for about another two minutes
- Pour about 2 1/2 Cups of warm water (that's about 1/2 Cup lesser than the regular 1:2 ratio used to cook rice) and give a gentle stir
- Now, place the dried fenugreek leaves/kasuri methi between the palms of both your hands and rub your palms gently above the dish, allowing the powdered kasuri methi to fall all over the cooking biryani
- Cover with a vented lid and allow to cook, stirring occasionally to avoid burning
- This quantity gets done in about 20 to 25 minutes since the rice is soaked before cooking and we've used warm water to cook the basmati rice, which even in the normal course is a quick cooking variety of rice. If you are using any other variety of rice, add about 1/4 cup more water check that the rice is fully cooked before you serve
- Garnish with coriander/mint
- Serve hot with your choice of gravy/kurma and/or raita/salad

NOTE - I normally do not use the pressure cooker while making biryani, unless I am making mutton/lamb biryani where the meat takes a long time to cook. I also switch from Basmati rice to either Sona Masoori or Ponni Raw Rice for mutton/lamb biryani as they take longer to cook as well.

Serves 4

Baby Corn Pepper Fry

2011-05-30T00:30:00.000-07:00

The Free-Spirit Bloggers are back again this month, and you can only 'begin' thinking of what we've got in store for you. Appetizers, starters, hors d'oeuvres or if you really care less about terminology...ahem, snacks. Call it by whatever name you want, they're all are served with a purpose. They keep you occupied and get people conversing with each other until the main course arrives.

Why are we all so partial to potatoes and oil when it comes to party starters? Sometimes, it is simply nice to swing things in a totally different direction. Try this - Baby Corn Pepper Fry. This one's very close to my heart, from my childhood days really, and I'd like to serve this up for this month's Free-Spirit Blogger's theme. This peppery, crunchy, tickle-your-tongue starter was a regular item on our table every time our family visited the Billiards Club in Bangalore. You'd be surprised to know this was the first time I tried making it at home myself. No great shakes, this recipe...but great flavor, is in here!

Ingredients

NOTE - I know the ratio of baby corn to pepper in this version seems pretty out of proportion. Here's why - The baby corn I bought was really tender and sweet and the pepper I have on hand is extremely mild. You might want to reduce the quantity of pepper if the variety you have is very strong.

2 Cups Baby Corn, washed and sliced into pieces. I used canned baby corn and chopped it across diagonally
3-4 Garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 Cup Onion, chopped
10-15 Curry leaves/Kadipatta
1/2 tsp Turmeric
6 tsp Ground pepper
2 tbsp Oil (I used olive oil. Go ahead and use whatever you normally do to cook)
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- Heat oil in a large wok/kadai
- Add chopped garlic and fry for a few seconds
- Toss in the onions and stir fry until golden brown
- Add the curry leaves and stir until they splutter, about a few seconds again
- Toss in the chopped baby corn and add turmeric, salt and pepper and on high heat stir fry the corn until almost all the moisture is released
- Now, lower the flame and stir fry until the baby corn turns crisp
- Serve hot with a chilled glass of your favorite drink

Serves 3 to 4

Don't forget to check out what the other FSB-ites Madhuri, Dhivya, Lataji, Mittu, Siri, Nags and Anupama have in store for your next party.

Egg-less Chocolate Pound Cake With Paneer

2011-04-30T01:00:00.000-07:00

The end of winter makes you want to do new things. Spring rings in a new beginning. And, with this came a refreshing idea from my very close friend and co-blogger, Madhuri Kumar. She herself had been thinking about bringing in something fresh to blogosphere. Something that would bring together like-minded bloggers and get the creativity flowing in their respective kitchens. Of course it doesn't stop there. We go a step further and put across all these 'experiments', good or bad, on our respective blogs for the world to see.

That said, she came up with a name for this group of bloggers. She christened it - Free Spirit Bloggers or FSB, for short. Yes, now you make sense of that little logo I have up on my blog. Well, the name says it all, right? Oh! Well, not quite. I'm sure you're aching to know more. Madhuri has a great write-up on Free Spirit Blogging on her site which you can take a peek at over here. Get to meet other FSB-ites and don't forget to bookmark their pages. All of them are awesome in their own ways. I am indeed honored to have been invited to be a part of such a group. Danke, Madhuri!

For those of you who want a quick piece of information right here...Be my guest. FSB is a group of eight bloggers who co-ordinate and come up with monthly themes for blogging. Something that will allow us to transcend from the mundane recipes to exciting culinary experiences. Each of us choose a theme, be it a cook, bake or something absolutely wild (in the kitchen ONLY! Ahem!) and work on it for a good 30 days before it gets presented on each of our blogs.

The whole of last month each of us were busy in the kitchen with our ovens. Why? We all decided to take up a theme based on cake baking. The month's theme was suggested by Madhuri. All of us tried different egg substitutes for a basic chocolate pound cake. I opted on trying using paneer in place of egg. You should check out what the other's used, too. Blog hop a bit over the FSB-ites pages. It's great fun.

So, in keeping with the 'spirit' I performed my experiment on one cold Spring afternoon. Here goes!

Ingredients

21/2 Cups All purpose flour (or Maida)

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Butter

3 heaping tbsp - Cocoa powder

1 Cup Paneer (I used paneer cubes)

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Baking Powder

1 tsp Vanilla essence

1/2 Salt

3/4 Cup Milk (The original recipe for Chocolate Pound Cake calls for 1/2 Cup. I found the batter too thick and added more milk. I really think it would drink in more wet ingredients)

Method

- Preheat the oven to 350 F

- Prepare baking dish by applying butter/oil and dusting with flour till well coated and set aside

- Puree paneer in a food chopper until you have very, very minuscule pieces

- Meanwhile, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl

- Repeat the sifting process thrice to get a homogeneous mixture and set aside

- Cream together butter and sugar

- Add the vanilla essence, beat well and set aside

- Add the pureed paneer to the butter-sugar mixture and beat well till it has been incorporated

- Now, add the sifted flour mixture to the butter-sugar-paneer mixture little by little and beat well till

blended smoothly

- Add adequate milk to achieve a batter of dropping consistency. Like I said, the original recipe called for 1/2 Cup. I added more to make the batter more smooth.

- Pour batter into the prepared baking pan, and bake at 180 deg C for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake

- Cool completely before serving

Verdict

The final cake fell apart so easily that I was itching to rename this Chocolate Crumb Cake. But, I do know paneer is an egg substitute that people use. I should try this again. My suspicion is on the freshness and quality of the paneer. So, if you see another chocolate pound cake up here on SSTT soon, you know I really am working up the experimental cook in me.

Fresh Cream Fruit Cake

2011-04-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

When it comes to sports or any other arena that requires a competitive spirit, people get diplomatic in talking about victory. We all, for that matter, would agree when one says - "It doesn't matter who wins or looses. What counts is playing a healthy game". So, it was just with this notion in my mind that I baked this 'Bleed Blue' themed Fresh Cream Fruit Cake to support the Indian Cricket Team as they competed for the Cricket World Cup against Sri Lanka. Bleed Blue was the caption/motto of the team (created by Nike? Did I get that right, ardent fans?) which was sported across social networking sites and got my attention. It certainly had my adrenaline running when I got to know my nation was in the finals of a game that's close on the heels of religion in India.

So, a couple of us friends got together with our families to witness what would go down in the pages Indian history. While our team gave their best shot and won the World Cup, it was taking us (still is!) to sink in and digest the heady win it was. Well, what was easier? Sinking our teeth into this sinful fresh cream fruit cake to celebrate victory.

While in most cases fruit cakes are topped off with all kinds of fruit possible, I decided to go with fruit that came closest to the colours of our Indian flag. Saffron (Oranges) and Green (Kiwi) and added blue food colouring to write the very inspiring words.

Team India, we Bleed Blue for you!!

Before I head into sharing the recipe with you, let me share with you a little something. I've been failing miserably at a particular bake. I know that may sound ridiculous coming from a person who is doing so much with the oven. But hey, I am really no professional here. I've had my share of muffins caving in and cakes as dry as the Sahara, too. Still, like I've said umpteen number of times, this blog is ALL about my experiments in the kitchen. Just turns out that some are good and some are bad. Nonetheless, all of them are learning experiences.

Now, here's the thing. Most pastries like this Fresh Cream Fruit Cake, Pineapple Pastry or Black Forest Cake etc. require a fat-less sponge as the base. This is done (according to my understanding) so that the soaking/sugar syrup/juice gets into every molecule of the sponge and heightens the experience of eating the pastry in the end. Well, I tried making fat-less sponge cakes many a times, but failed. And, I just bake a basic vanilla or chocolate or whatever cake I want as the base and proceed from there to make my pastry.

With this Fresh Cream Fruit Cake I've baked a basic cake and then worked my way up to what it looked like in the pictures. This is just my perception of what I'd like to call a Fresh Cream Fruit Cake. Is there any thing I've missed? Let me know!

My thought was I could do away with about 1/2 cup of milk because I felt the cake became too dense (see the picture of the slice to know get I mean). Try both ways and see what works for you if you're in the mood for some serious baking experimentation.

Alright, alright. I've bored you enough. I'm sharing the recipe now. Finally!

Like the other pastries, I'd like to break this procedure into steps, as follows:

STEP I - Baking the Basic (Vanilla) Cake
STEP II - Layering and Basic Assembly
STEP III - Decorating the Cake to a Finished Product

STEP I - Baking the Basic (Vanilla) Cake

This step involves baking a basic cake which acts as a base to the entire finished product. If you intend making a simple cake anytime, save this right now!

Ingredients
1 Cup All purpose flour/Maida
1 Cup Unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Cup Confectioner's sugar
1 Cup Milk (Reduce to half cup for a less dense cake)
3 Eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 tsp Salt

Method
- Preheat oven to 350F and prepare baking dish by smearing oil/butter all over the insides. Dust flour to evenly cover all parts of the dish to prevent the cake from sticking to it once baked
- In a large bowl, sift together all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Repeat the sifting process into another large bowl to make sure you have a homogenous mixture of all these dry ingredients
- Cream together butter and sugar in another bowl
- Now, break eggs into the creamed sugar-butter one by one and beat with a hand mixer
- Add the vanilla extract to this wet mixture
- This batter may be thick, so pour in the milk gradually with your hand mixer on low speed
- Now, slowly add flour, a little amount at a time and fold in using a silicone spatula until you have a creamy and luscious batter
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish (I have used a 9" round springform pan) and bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when pierced in the center of the cake
- Once baked, transfer the cake onto a cooling rack to allow the cake to come down to room temperature

If you intend continuing to STEP II, make sure the cake is completely cooled. But if you want to go to STEP II the next day, go ahead and place the cooled cake in the refrigerator overnight if the weather is too warm where you live.

STEP II - Layering and Basic Assembly

This step involves cutting the cake into layers, dousing them in sugar syrup and topping them off with whipped cream and sugar doused chopped fruit pieces. Sound's easy breezy, does'nt it? Go ahead and do it!!

For those of you living in hot places, take your cake out of the fridge and place it on your contertop until you grab the ingredients required to layer and frost it. This will allow the cake to come back to a warmer temperature before you flip it over your cake board/plate (The one on which you intend cutting it in the end). Now, get hold of all the following things from around your kitchen/pantry.

Ingredients
1.5 Cups of mixed fresh fruit (I used Kiwis, Oranges, Strawberries and Blueberries)

1/2 Cup Confectioner's Sugar

4 to 5 Cups - Whipped Cream/Topping (I used store bought ready-made whipped cream to save me some time. If you intend making it from scratch, go right ahead. Just whip together, in a chilled bowl, 3 Cups of heavy whipping cream along with 1/2 Cup (or more if needed) of Confectioner's sugar until it forms soft peaks)
1/2 Cup Water and 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar/Regular sugar to make Sugar Syrup.

Method
- Wash and chop all the fruits and set aside in a bowl
- Toss in 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar over the fruit and mix well and place in refrigerator
- In a saucepan, combine the water and granulated sugar and set to a boil
- Once the sugar melts, turn off the heat and set aside to cool
- Now, head back to your cake and flip it over your cake board/plate. If you feel the cake is giving you a hard time flipping over (and if you have used a microwave safe dish to bake it) then toss the cake, prior to struggling to get it out of the baking dish, into the microwave for about 15-30 seconds. This will warm up the cake and allow for it to be easily lifted off (by slowly tugging at the sides using a broad off-set spatula) and flipped over onto your cake board. Yet, be careful as you do this so that you dont end up with a broken cake!
- If your cake seems to wobble, turn it back onto original position and smooth away any bulging parts (using the serrated/ridged knife) and flip again onto your cake board so you have a sturdy base to work with. You could place a paper towel below your work area for all the (yummy) mess that follows
- Using a serrated/ridged knife cut the cake horizontally to form a two layered cake. Separate the layers. Remember in which order and direction you have placed them, lest you end up placing them back in the opposite/wrong way leading to an odd shaped cake after its all done!
- Now place one layer (the lowest one for the final cake) on your cake board. Mount it on your turn-table (Or put together a make-shift turn-table like I do - I just flip a large steel plate to place the cake, and then I mount this on my round chapati rolling stand. Works just perfectly!)
- Lightly drizzle the sugar syrup over this layer of the cake, covering the entire surface area. This step is what gives the final cake that super moist texture!
- Now, scoop about 1 to 1.5 Cups of the whipped cream and drop the humongous dollop on this layer using a frosting spatula
- Spread all over the layer covering it completely such that you have a thick layer of whipped cream on it. Add more cream if you think your cream layer is not too thick since this is dependant on what size of a baking dish you used/size of your cake. A 1/2 to 3/4th inch thick layers of cream seem fine to me, but indulge if you like more!
- Now, take out the sugar doused fruit pieces and drain away any water content
- Spread fruit pieces evenly over the whipped cream
- Place the top layer of the cake on this. Smooth out any cream that seems to be seeping out between the layers and place in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes to set
- Pull out and mount the cake back on the turn-table. Repeat application of the the sugar syrup
- Now, using the frosting spatula pick up about 1 Cup whipped cream and roughly smear it all over the cake (both on top and around the sides). Smooth out rough parts and pop the semi-finished cake back in the refrigerator to allow the flavours to marry overnight before you finish up the main finishing with whipped cream and final decoration

STEP III - Decorating the Cake to a Finished Product

This step involves coating the cake with a smooth layer of whipped cream and topping it up with all that you desire. Go ahead and get creative!

Yup, yup! We're almost done and I am SO proud that you've read this far. Keep going...your divine dessert awaits you at the end of all this.

Ingredients
Left over whipped cream (Or about 1.5 Cups)
Fresh Fruit (I used Kiwis and Oranges, as you can see)

Method to finish the cake with whipped cream
-Take small dollops of whipped cream and apply a layer of cream over the sides of the cake as you simultanuously rotate your turntable. Use smooth back and forth motions to cover the entire cake (sides) evenly. Dont worry too much about tiny peaks and valleys. We'll work on them in a few steps.
- Drop about 3/4 Cup of whipped cream on top of the cake and spread out evenly using a flat spatula
- Run your spatula against the top edge to remove any excess cream between the sides and the top of the cake
- Now dip a steel frosting spatula in cold water (Yup I had said hot water in my Black Forest Cake but I tried cold water and it works much better). Wipe dry with a towel and spread out any uneven parts of the frosted cake as you rotate the turntable, to get a smooth finished look

Method to decorate the cake the way I have

- Use a fork to make the combed effect on the sides of the cake
- Prep kiwis and oranges and make equal sized semi-circular slices
- Starting with one point on the cake place one piece of each fruit adjacent to each other
- Now, imagine your cake to be a clock and keeping that point as say the 12 o'clock mark, place fruit at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions
- Fill out the remaining positions of the imaginary clock
- Mix a small quantity of whipped cream with blue food colouring
- Fill a plastic zip-top bag with the same
- Snap a small portion of a corner of the blue cream bag and pipe whatever you want on the cake. I piped lines on the sides of my cake to add some drama.

Serves 12 - 14

Broccoli And Egg Stir-fry Noodles

2011-04-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

I am a sucker for routines. My husband will swear by this. He, for one, is the complete opposite. Laid back and 'let-things-happen' kinda person. But, I need to have a fixed time for everything. So, after a good eight years of being married we've slowly but gradually found some sort of an equilibrium. I flex my rules and he, his. Still with all this flexing and bending, there's almost no time on weekdays to prepare laborious meals for us. Preparing lunch comes on the close quarters to running a marathon as I juggle all my chores. Yet, I want to give my little son and myself something worth sitting down to eat together. Enter Stir-fries!!

I do not normally use eggs in my stir-fry noodles. But, who cannot do with some extra protein, huh?

Ingredients

1 Cup - Hakka noodles (I've used Hakka Egg noodles to boost the flavour. You can use the regular variety, too)

3/4 Cup - Broccoli florets (I've chopped mine into thin florets so that my toddler can eat them easily)

1 Egg (Add more if you desire)

1/2 Cup - Onions,julienned

2-3 Garlic cloves, crushed

1 Green chillie

1/2 tbsp Ginger garlic paste

1 tsp Chillie garlic sauce (Or just use chillie sauce, if you don't have this. You normally find this in Asian food stores/sections of supermarkets)

1.5 tsp Soy sauce

Olive Oil

1/2 tsp Ground pepper

And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method

- Boil about 4 cups of water in a saucepan

- Add salt and then toss in the hakka noodles and give it a slight stir to get it cooking

- After about 4 minutes (or until the noodles are just about cooked but still firm from outside) turn off the heat and drain the water

- Flush noodles with fresh, cold water to avoid it from sticking to each other and drizzle some oil over it and set aside

- In a pan, heat about 1 tsp of oil. Add salt and pepper to add taste to the egg(s) in a bowl, whisk them a tad bit and then toss in the pan and scramble the egg(s). Set aside

- Now, in a non-stick wok/kadai, heat about 2 tbsp of olive oil and add the green chillie, crushed garlic, ginger-garlic paste and stir fry for a few seconds

- Add onions and fry until translucent

- Add broccoli florets and stir fry until they cook

- Add scrambled eggs and stir

- Stream in the soy sauce and chillie garlic/chillie sauces and fry further

- Now toss in the cooked noodles. Using tongs, fry the noodles along with everything else in the wok using quick stirring motion

- Sprinkle pepper and salt (if you need more) and serve hot

Serves 2

Desi Style Savory Whole Wheat Onion Cheddar Muffins

2011-03-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

Another one of my original baking experiments that turned out great and ....I can already see the faces light up! I know I've bored you savory food lovers enough with all my cakes and sweet muffins. So, this time I've given you mirch-masala people something to drool about - and, that too, from the oven! Literally killed two birds in one shot here.

To make things better, I've added Indian spices to give these muffins a desi feel without losing out on the wonderful combination of onion and cheddar cheese.

Do you need more reason to try this one? Ok, here's one. Having this bake in your oven makes your home smell like you've made freshly baked bread. Not heard of anyone who loathes this one, eh?

Ingredients
1 Cup Whole wheat flour
3/4 Cup, Red onion, coarsely chopped
1 Cup Cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 Cup Coriander

5-6 Curry leaves, randomly chopped

2 tsp Cumin powder
1 1/2 tsp Red chillie powder
1 tsp Garam masala

1 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Baking soda

1/2 Cup Corn Oil (Or any other oil that you use to cook)
2 tbsp Olive Oil, for seasoning the onions (Or just use the oil that you normally cook with, again)
3/4 Cup Butter milk (I used store bought, slightly salted masala chhaash. Go ahead and make buttermilk from scratch using yogurt at home and use that. Will work fine.)
1 tsp Salt (Add a tad bit more if you are not adding salted buttermilk. Besides, cheese comprises of salt as well. So, watch this one.)

Method
- Preheat oven to 350 F and line muffin tray with baking cups. Smear oil around the edges of the cups so as to avoid sticking when the muffins rise in the oven while baking
- Sift whole wheat flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl
- In a saucepan, heat the 2 tbsp of olive oil (or any other oil that you normally use. Olive oil just makes the onions tastier)
- Add curry leaves and stir fry until they splutter
- Add onions and saute over medium flame until they are translucent
- Toss in the cumin, chillie and garam masala powders and fry until onions are slightly browned and turn off flame
- Now, get back to your bowl of flour and add the grated cheese and coriander to it
- Next, pop in the seasoned onion mixture from the saucepan into the bowl
- Add oil and buttermilk and incorporate
- Using a whisk, mix together all ingredients until well combined. This batter will be thick. Check the salt content and add more, if desired, and stir further
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin tray, almost filling each muffin cup since these don't rise as much
- Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean
- Once done, allow to cool for about 15- 20 minutes before serving with a blob of butter. Yum!

Makes 8 pieces.

With a crunchy crust that gives way to a soft, perfectly spiced muffin....these can be the best part of breakfast on any given day!

Skillet Toasted Spinach Mushroom Sandwich

2011-03-17T12:34:00.000-07:00

The sun is peeking out, the wind is warming up. Spring is in the air...and that's what you're hearing everywhere. So, I won't be repetitive!!

Hah! That was such a mean way to start a post. But, all said and done this season does inspire you to 'get-fresh'(?)! With so much of feeling-good-about-the-day happening, I could not stop myself from dishing out something easy, healthy and filling for lunch. I just put together some spinach and mushrooms with a couple spices in a pan to make a delicious filling and slathered it along-side a wee bit of cheese (just to bind it all together) on a whole wheat flat bread. Voila! Lunch for two, under 20 minutes!

And, who is the two we're talking about? My sonny boy and me of course. This was a hit with him. I added extra cheese on his sandwich because these kids sure know to burn their calories. Fast!

Ingredients
4 Slices of bread (Use whatever kind you like. I used whole wheat flat bread for myself and regular white bread for my son)
1.5 Cups Mushrooms, wiped clean with a towel and coarsly chopped
2 Cups Spinach, washed and julienned
1/2 Small red onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp Chillie powder (add per your taste)
1 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese (or as much as you like/dislike)
1/2 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Olive Oil (Or any other oil that you normally use to cook)
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- Heat oil in a saucepan, toss in the garlic and fry for a few seconds
- Add onions and fry until translucent
- Add cumin powder and stir
- Toss in the spinach and fry until the spinach wilts
- Now, add the chopped mushrooms and chillie powder and stir on medium-high flame for about 3 minutes
- Add salt and stir
- Simmer, cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes
- Meanwhile, spread butter over both sides of all the bread slices
- Heat a non-stick skillet and place slices on it on a low flame to toast them
- Uncover the spinach-mushroom filling and stir until all the water content evaporates
- Spoon filling over 2 slices and top with cheese
- Place the empty slices over the two 'filled' slices and gently press down gently
- Continue to toast on a low flame until all the cheese melts and the bread is toasted to golden brown perfection
- Serve hot with your favourite salad

Makes 2 wholesome sandwiches

Potato Mozzarella Baskets

2011-03-12T22:06:00.000-08:00

There are moments in life when you tend to do the most ridiculously stupid things. And, as I type this post, I am doing just that. You're thinking I am out of my mind saying something so absurd? Oh, well...no, I've not yet got myself that insane.

But, you would sure consider it insane for a person to sit at half past twelve in the wee hours of the night and start writing a post on her blog, wouldn't you? Why? She wanted to watch the clock step forward by an hour. Who? ME! Yeah, daylight saving starts tomorrow and I wanted to see when exactly this happens. My little boy and the big man of the house counted their sheep and are fast asleep in their beds and here I am having a ball watching the clock. The cable-box clock (which I'm staring at) and all those other automatic clocks in this part of the world would go one hour ahead at a certain point in time tonight... So, I hear myself croon the old Spice Girls number (with a twist in lyrics, though)...."Tonight is the night...When two become(s)...three!" Okay, I really am going bonkers out here. I should probably get to writing what I'm here for.

These little baskets get their inspiration from Nita Mehta's Mushroom and Olive Baskets, which is a recipe I found in one of her books on Baking. They're super easy and fun to entertain kids (and adults, alike). What's the best part? You can get your children to help in making this (and theory has it that they enjoy eating their food once they know they made it). I can almost hear you saying "Oh we know 'theories' don't we? But...but...but this certainly works. My son enjoyed peeling the potatoes, placing those little coriander pieces to garnish. And yes, he gobbled these down once they were out of the oven. So, get hold of your toddler and get into the kitchen to share some fun times.

Ingredients

6 Slices of bread (I used regular white bread. Go ahead and use any variety you like)

2 Potatoes - Washed, boiled, peeled and cubed

3/4 Cup Mozzarella cheese (Use more if you desire. We all love to get 'cheesy' once in a way, right?)

2 tsp Chillie powder

1 tsp Cumin powder (Jeera powder)

1 Sprig Coriander, to garnish (optional)

1 tsp Oil

And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method

- Preheat oven to 400F

- Spray a muffin pan OR six ramekins/oven-safe bowls with oil

- Using a rolling pin flatten the bread slices

- Using a round cookie cutter or a pizza cutter, cut circles out of the flattened bread slices

- In a saucepan, heat oil and add the boiled, peeled and cubed potatoes

- Toss in the chillie powder, cumin powder and salt and stir until well mixed

- Place a bread 'circle' in each of your prepared ramekins/muffin cups give them a gentle push to 'sit' inside

- Spoon prepared potato filling in each cup and place in oven for about 6-8 minutes or until the bread is slightly toasted/browned on its edges

- Open oven and sprinkle cheese on top of each basket and pop back in oven until cheese melts and slightly browns (about another 6-8minutes)

- Once done, garnish with cilantro and serve hot with tomato ketchup

Makes 6 baskets

Oh boy, I am yawning away now and the darned clock doesn't seem to be moving a muscle. It's five minutes to 1am. I did not see what I wanted to. But, I sure hope you saw an interesting new appetizer to serve up at your next party. I'll leave you all drooling while I catch up on my sleep. I am off to bed. See y'all hovering around my next post!

Dark Chocolate Ganache Covered Mocha Mousse Pastry

2011-03-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

Remember my Oreo Peanut Butter Mousse Dessert that I planned to make for my cousin brother's family? Well, I ditched that whole idea. Not because it was not good, but simply because I decided to make something even more sinful. Even more drool-worthy. I mean, peanut butter is good, but chocolate is excellent! So, I traded the Oreo base for a rich chocolate cake and cut it into layers, doused it in a home-made non-alcoholic coffee liqueur and topped it off with dark chocolate ganache. Before you think it sounds so difficult, take a peek at what it looked like in the end.

This is SO worth every minute you spend making it....you will thank yourself that you tried making something on these lines. This was, quite literally, my first best chocolate cake ever. The recipe is a keeper if you think about making just a chocolate cake/cupcakes. And as for the liqueur, mousse and ganache...they just found their way into my cake and livened it up, like props for a great stage performance!

I urge you to go through the entire recipe and pick up all the ingredients before you start. You dont wnat to be half way through and realize you missed out something. No way! Also, Since this recipe is a bit long drawn I would like to break it up into parts, as below:

1 - Baking the Rich Chocolate Cake Base (Make this a day or two prior to when you want to make the pastry and store in refrigerator)
2 - Method to make non-alcoholic coffee liqueur (This and following two items, to be made on the day that you are ready to make the pastry and assemble it together)
3 - Cake assembly
4 - Method to make mocha mousse
5 - Method to make dark chocolate ganache and cover the assembled cake

Get ready for the joy ride. Just don't get bored half way through, for what you see below, is what awaits you!

Roll those sleeves up. Get in!

1 - Baking the Rich Chocolate Cake Base
Like I said earlier, this has been my best super-delicious chocolate cake yet. I've used a chocolate bar instead of cocoa powder, and it certainly adds to the final taste of the cake. Discover for yourself!

IMPORTANT NOTE - If you are going to make the pastry, then you will need a springform pan for better results. If you do not have one don't worry too much, I will guide you through.

Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups All-purpose flour
1 1/4 Cups Tightly packed light or dark brown sugar (Use powdered sugar if you do not have this handy. I suggest brown sugar since the molasses adds to the soft texture and taste of the cake)
1 Cup Unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 Cup (around 180 gms) Chocolate, melted and cooled (I used a semi sweet baking chocolate bar)
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
3 Eggs, at room temperature
1 Cup Whole milk
1 1/4 tbsp Vanilla essence
A pinch of salt

Chocolate Melting Techniques
Before I dive into the recipe, I'd like to explain how to melt chocolate. Although a very simple process, I have myself ended up with burned chocolate in the microwave. But after a lot of reading up (and trying, obviously!) I figured out how to get perfectly melted chocolate. Here's how!

Method to melt chocolate in a microwave oven

What you need
1. Microwave safe bowl
2. Chocolate

The process
- Make small pieces of the chocolate and place in a small microwave safe bowl. If you are using chocolate chips/morsels, just place them as is in the microwave safe bowl
- Microwave on low power for 30 seconds
- Stir
- Microwave again for another 20-30 seconds on low power
- Repeat this process until chocolate melts completely

Method to melt chocolate in a double boiler

What you need
1. A large heat resistant bowl. Glass works perfectly. Steel bowls should be fine, too, although I have never tried it
2. A saucepan whose diameter is a wee bit lesser than that of the bowl
3. Chocolate

The process
- Make small pieces of the chocolate and place in a large heat resistant bowl. If you are using chocolate chips/morsels, just place them as in in the bowl
- In a saucepan, pour water and turn on the heat
- Turn off the flame just around the time the water is about to boil
- Place the heat resistant bowl containing the chocolate on top of this saucepan
- Make sure the hot water does not touch the bottom of the bowl and no steam escapes from the sides. This is why the size of the sauce pan should be smaller than that of the bowl
- Continuously stir the chocolate as the heat from the steam of the just-boiled water grazes the bowl
- Stir until chocolate melts completely

Now, that I've bugged you enough about melting chocolate, let me proceed to the method of making this luxuriant chocolate cake.

Method
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Grease your baking dish/springform pan and set aside
- Break eggs and set aside in another bowl
- Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl twice and set aside
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar
- Toss in the vanilla essence into the creamed butter and sugar
- Now beat this together using an electric beater on low speed
- Gradually dropping one egg at a time and continue to beat
- Keep the beater on and slowly add the melted chocolate and milk
- Continue beating until all the ingredients are incorporated
- Slowly add the flour/dry mixture keeping your beater running
- Beat until all the ingredients mix well and you have a smooth yet fluffed up batter (about 2 minutes). Do not over do the beating. This batter is thick. Don't panic.
- Slowly pour batter into prepared baking dish using a spatula to spread the thick cake batter
- Place in the pre-heated oven
- Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake
- Cool completely before serving as is or proceed to making the coffee liqueur, mocha mousse and ganache to head towards making the Dark Chocolate Ganache Covered Mocha Mousse Pastry

Again, if you intend making the pastry, I suggest you bake this cake one day (or even two, so the flavours get a lot of time to evolve in the fridge) prior to making the mousse, liqueur and ganache. Secondly, take the cake out of the fridge

If you are serving just the Rich Chocolate Cake....go ahead and eat it after its cooled! Enjoy!

2 - Method to Make Non-alcoholic Coffee Liqueur

I really should not be terming this one as liqueur, because there is no alcohol in it. But, then again, I could not just say coffee-sugar syrup. It just sounds too plain for something so fantastic tasting. In fact, this one is so good, if you have extra just save it up and use it to make your next cup of home-made mocha!

Ingredients
1 Cup Water
1 tbsp Cocoa powder
1 1/4 tbsp Instant Coffee powder
3/4 Cup Sugar

Method
- In a saucepan combine all ingredients and bring to a boil
- Set aside to cool before use

If you intend making an alcoholic liqueur, all you need to do is add to this mix is a couple spoons of either rum, brandy or vodka.

3 - Cake assembly
Now, before you begin mousse-ing around let's get to assembling the cake. We would be going back and forth between preparing the mousse and assembly of the cake. I'll guide you through, so stay with me!

- Pull the chocolate cake out of the fridge and place on the turntable. No turntable, no fret. Just use your chapathi rolling stand or an inverted large plate. You can read more about makeshift turntables in my Black Forest Cake recipe.
- Remove the side ring of the springform pan. If you are not using a springform pan, just invert the cake onto a serving plate (as you would when baking any other frosted cake) and follow the steps below.
- Cut the cake horizontally into two layers, placing the top layer upside down on another plate
- Using a spoon, gently pour the prepared coffee liqueur on the lower layer to cover its entire surface area
- Now go ahead and make the mocha mousse

4 - Making the Mocha Mousse
Go back one post on SSTT, and you will see the recipe of a peanut butter mousse dessert. I've used the same concept. No eggs in this one, so its a no-mess mousse. Oh what more can I say, it is so darn easy.

IMPORTANT NOTE - Get to making this mousse only when you are ready to assemble your cake. If you make this ahead of time and place in the fridge, your mousse will set in the bowl you place it in and that's not what we want. We want it to set inside the cake!

Ingredients for the mousse
1 1/4Cups Heavy Cream/Whipping Cream

3/4 Cup Confectioner's Sugar (Powdered sugar)
4 tbsp. Cream Cheese, softened
1 1/2 tbsp Cocoa powder
2 tsp Instant coffee powder
1 tbsp. butter, melted
2 drops Vanilla essence

Method
- Chill the blades of your electric beater in the fridge for a while. You could opt to chill the bowl in which you would make/beat the mousse as well. I did not do so. I just chilled only the blades.
- In a large bowl, add all the ingredients and beat until the mixture forms very, very soft peaks

We get back to assembling the cake at this point
- Place the side ring of the springform back in position. Those of you who are not using a spring form pan, the mousse in itself is not very runny in consistency. So go right ahead and follow the steps below and I'll fill you in on what to do next
- Pour this mousse onto the lower layer of your cake and spread using a spatula to make an even layer of mousse filling for your final pastry
- Place the top later of the cake and douse that with the coffee liqueur such that the entire surface area is covered with the same. For those of you not using a springform pan, I suggest you use a flat spatula and remove any excess mousse that seeps out of the two layers for a smooth finish. You could further opt to use aluminium foil and 'wrap' the sides of the cake. Cut a long piece of the foil, width a little more than the height of your cake/pastry and run it along the sides to that the mousse sets inside. I personally do not see the need for this because this mousse behaves well!
- Place this layered, assembled cake in the fridge for the flavours to get to know each-other for about 4 hours

5 - Making the Dark Chocolate Ganache
This, for those of you who don't know (like me a couple years ago), is nothing but a thick concoction of chocolate and heavy cream. So, do not get intimidated by the word ganache. Just grab the ingredients and make it. I've added a hint of instant coffee powder to heighten the chocolate flavour and of course to go with the entire mocha 'theme', per se.

There are several ways and versions to making ganache. A lot of people even add essences, extracts and other stuff. I thought I'd keep this one simple.

Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups Heavy(whipping) cream
1 1/4 Cups Chocolate chips/morsels
1/2 tsp Instant Coffee Powder

Method
- In a saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer
- Turn off flame
- Add the chocolate chips and stir until the chocolate chips melt
- Add the coffee powder and give a gentle stir to incroporate
- Set aside to cool completely and thicken. You can place it in the fridge for it to cool and thicken faster.

Heading back to cake assembly yet again
This is the fag end of the cake assembly and the bestestestest part. I loved doing it and feeling (oops, seeing!) the chocolate ganache slowly spread like heavenly nectar over the cake. It is a sight worth coming this far for.

- Once, the ganache has cooled fully take the cake out of the fridge and place it over a cooling rack (or just at a height over a plate) with a large sheet of newspaper/kitchen paper towels below
- Take out the springform side ring/foil (if you used any)
- Pour the ganache over the cake, and simultaneously spread using a spatula to cover entire cake. This, people, is bliss. Trust me!
- Once the whole cake is covered, clean up the gooey mess below (you can go ahead and use your tongue) - Slowly and carefully place it back in the fridge for the ganache to set over the cake

I allowed my cake to sit in the fridge until it was almost time to be served. I took it out about 30 minutes before serving. I decorated my pastry with chocolate curls. Get creative and do what you want, or just eat it the way it is. Promptly place back in the fridge after serving.

I'm going to grab the last slice of this pastry and it does'nt feel less than settling down for prayer. Serenity, here I come!

Oreo Peanut Butter Mousse Dessert

2011-03-02T13:36:00.000-08:00

Last weekend's grocery shopping list did not quite include whipping cream, chocolate bars and cream cheese. But, I bought them nevertheless thinking I'll probably make a Black Forest Cake or something on those lines over the coming weekend to serve up as dessert as I've invited my cousin brother and his family over. Of course, with such inviting things sitting in the fridge you could only imagine my desire to whip up something new. I kept thinking about all sorts of desserts and I recollected having heard a chef on TV saying you could make mousse/mousse cakes without eggs by using cream cheese instead. Ah! The many ways that you can make a mousse...so light, yet satisfying! That said, I decided I would experiment with whatever I had on hand. WHATEVER I saw on my kitchen counter-top. And, I saw peanut butter! Now, of course, you could either make a mousse and spoon it into bowls or glasses for it to set before you serve. Pretty much what I did when I made White Chocolate Mousse. But, with this one I decided to take things a wee bit further since this was, of course, an experiment. So, I went ahead and pulled out my box or Oreo cookie to make a base for a dessert-to-be. I worked up my imagination, mixed ingredients and popped it in the fridge for a good 6 hours. The result - YUM!

The only sad thing about this entire experiment was that I made way too less. Boo hoo! I just had about one 3*5 inch layer of this sweet temptation. And, when I said layer, it was just as thick (or should I say thin?) as ONE layer of what you see in the above picture. I wished N number of times that I had churned up more and set it as a thick cake like dessert. Well, well...we'll get there some day. So I cut 1" squares of that one layer that I had, piled it up (in sets of three) and made what I call the Oreo Peanut Butter Mousse Dessert.

And as if this was not already filled with enough calories, I went ahead and made thick chocolate ganache and decorated each piece of dessert. Talk about indulgence!

Oh and guess what? Here's something I got to know from a friend. I had made this on 'National Peanut Butter Lover's Day'. Who knew March 1st was called so, eh? What a superb co-incidence indeed! Now, you need not wait another year to make this one. All you need is a guilt-filled trip to the grocery store just like me. Just this one time, come on. I'm giving you the permission!

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Heavy Cream/Whipping Cream
1/3 Cup Confectioner's Sugar (Powdered sugar)
1/4 Cup Peanut Butter (Creamy)
2 tbsp. Cream Cheese, softened
5 Oreo cookies, regular variety (For those of you who do not get Oreos around where you live, just use any other cream filled cookie instead. I suggest you pick up cookies with chocolate and vanilla flavour combinations for best results.)
1 tbsp. butter, melted
2-3 drops Vanilla essence
Cooking pray/Oil

Method
- Remove the cream from the insides of each of your cookies and set them aside
- Toss the cookies in a food chopper/blender and let it run until all the cookies are completely crushed
- In a bowl, place about 1/2 tbsp of the melted butter and add the crushed cookies
- Add the cream of the cookies to this and mix well with your hands until the mixture holds together. You will not be able to see the cream. The very reason I've separated the cream from the cookies is because else you would have this thick mass of mashed up cookies and cream sitting in your blender. Not something we want!
- Lightly grease a tiny flat based dish (I used something like this, just a lot smaller in size since I was just trying out something new) with cooking spray/oil. Use just about 1/4 tsp of oil. You really do not need much.
- Toss in the crushed cookies mixture into the greased dish and press it to form a thin layer/base for the mousse. This idea, of course, is similar to that of making cheesecake crusts.
- In another large bowl, pour the cream, sugar and vanilla essence and beat (using a electric beater) until the cream forms very, very soft peaks. You do not want stiff peaks just yet
- Toss in the peanut butter, remaining melted butter and cream cheese and now whip this mixture to a smooth, creamy texture
- Once all the ingredients have incorporated, slowly pour this mousse over the prepared Oreo crust
- Place in refrigerator for a minimum of four hours for the dessert to set
- When ready to serve, cut 1 inch squares and pile on 3 pieces to make one decadent Oreo Peanut Butter Mousse Dessert
- You could opt to eat it as is, or pour over some ganache (recipe follows)

This recipe makes about four(4) 3-layered 1" pieces of dessert. I told you, I should have made more. I am so angry with myself!

Ingredients for chocolate ganache
1/4 Cup Heavy/Whipping cream
1/4 Cup Chocolate chips/morsels

Method
- Place chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl
- Heat whipping cream until just boiled
- Pour over chocolate chips and let stand for a minute
- Mix with spatula until well blended and let cool until desired thickness/consistency
- Pour over dessert

Got left over ganache? Pop it in the fridge until it hardens. Take it out and make balls of the same. And, yes, you have chocolate truffles. This one I've to experiment with. Will update you when I do! Until then, enjoy your petite Oreo Peanut Butter Mousse Desserts!

Sugar Glazed Banana Walnut Muffins

2011-02-25T09:02:00.000-08:00

I hate to waste food. It is of course not something anybody would like doing. Especially when it comes to fruit, I hate to see myself throw away rotten fruit when I know I could have eaten it in the raw - What more can a lazy person ask for? No cutting, no chopping. Just wash and eat. Well, so much for natures such gifts, we always end up in situations where we have foods reaching the peak of their flavour and sometimes we just don't know what to do with the same. This happens most of the time, in our house, with bananas. We eat a couple, then they go over-ripe and then into the garbage pail. But, this slowly changed ever since I discovered the recipe for Banana Bread over a couple years ago. Not that I'd bake this every time we had over-ripe bananas, but its just such a wonderful way to use up fruit than to throw it away.

This time around I decided to twist the Banana Bread recipe to the muffin version. I even decided on adding walnuts since they perfectly compliment banana muffins. And, of course I topped it all off with a sugar glaze. One bite into this fella and you know you ain't sharing him with anybody!

These muffins are so easy to bake, if you are a newbie to baking, I'd suggest you try these. It will certainly up your confidence with respect to working with the ingredients and get you more friendly with your oven.

Although most baking recipes call for butter at room temperature (for cakes), I recently learnt that for muffins with a bread-like consistency you could use melted butter. So, I decided on trying the same for this recipe. Obviously the result was a bread-like muffin which is perfect for breakfast or as a snack. But if you are looking for a cake-like muffin then I suggest you follow steps that are similar to that of cake making. Cream together butter and sugar at room temperature, then get your eggs, vanilla essence and bananas in to make a wet mixture and combine with the dry ingredients. I followed the melted butter method for this. Do try both ways and let me know!

Ingredients for the Banana Walnut Muffins

1 1/2 Cups All purpose flour (Maida)

1 1/4 Cups Granulated sugar

1 1/4 Cups Unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Baking soda

1 tsp Vanilla essence

2 Cups Mashed, over-ripe bananas

3 Eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 Cup Walnuts

A pinch of salt

Method

- Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin tray with baking cups

- Place walnuts on baking sheet and toss in oven for about 10 minutes to toast the nuts

- In the meanwhile, mix together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a large bowl

- Pull out the toasted nuts, coarsely chop them and toss them into the flour(dry) mixture

- To the lightly beaten eggs, add the vanilla essence, melted butter and mix until just blended

- Now, stir the mashed bananas into this wet mixture

- Pour this wet mixture into the dry flour mixture and fold until just blended. DO NOT over mix and this will result in rubbery muffins. You want your batter to be just mixed, yet chunky

- Spoon the batter into prepared muffin tray and bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out smoothly

- Cool completely before glazing with sugar

Ingredients for the Sugar Glaze

2 tbsp Water

1/2 to 3/4 cup Confectioner's Sugar/Powdered Sugar

Method

- Mix the water and sugar in a bowl until you get a smooth yet thick white paste like sugary syrup

- Adjust quantities of sugar/water if you find that your glaze is too thin/thick

- Use a spoon and drizzle the same over your muffins. I did so right over my muffins when they were still in their tray but completely cooled. Here's a pic of the same.

This recipe makes 12 delicious muffins!

Mocha Cream Gateau

2010-11-19T02:57:00.000-08:00

Yes. I'm back. Oh no, not from my vacation. I have over two months left. But I am back on SSTT. Hmmm, I sure missed posting out here and I knew you'd be waiting to read something new, too. So, I did my bit to keep this space alive. I baked a cake the day before I left for my vacation, took pics, mailed them to myself so I could do this post someday at home. Talk about being completely obsessed!! And, you must know by now, that every cake tells a story. This one (thankfully for you!) is short. So, here goes.

My sonny boy and I left to India leaving Daddy dear behind all alone for two whole months. I felt oh-so-sad about having to travel alone. And I simply had to do something to make myself feel good as I packed my bags. At the same time I wanted to make a not so big one. Something that would make for our dessert that night and have enough slices to save for hubby to enjoy after we left. So, I came up with this mocha cream gateau. Sorry about the pathetic decoration. I made this in about three hours flat and did not have the patience to take great pictures. Shot 'em right on my counter top (You can even see my mixing bowl!!) and then we cut it and dove straight in!

With the perfect balance of chocolate and coffee giving you the right ooh's and aah's, this one's a a keeper. Make it once, and you'll agree!

I've broken down the process for this cake into a couple steps. First I list out the ingredients for the entire gateau. Then follows the method for the cake and frosting. And, finally, assembly of the cake.

Ingredients for Chocolate Cake Base
1 Cup Flour
1 Cup Confectioner's Sugar
1 Cup Butter
2 Eggs
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
3 heaping tbsp Cocoa powder
1 tsp Instant coffee powder
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1/4 Cup Oil (I've used corn)
A pinch of salt

Ingredients for Mocha Cream Frosting
1.5 Cups Heavy whipping Cream
1/2 Cup Confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp Instant coffee powder
1/2 tsp Cocoa powder

Method
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray/smear oil/butter over a loaf pan
- Cream together butter and sugar and set aside
- In a large bowl, sift together all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder and coffee powder
- Repeat the sifting process into another large bowl to make sure you have a homogenous mixture of all these dry ingredients
- Now, break eggs into another bowl and beat until fluffy/frothy (about 10-15 minutes) and doubled in quantity
- Pour the beaten eggs into the creamed sugar-butter mixture and beat again until well mixed
- Add the vanilla essense to this wet mixture
- Slowly pour and fold in small quantities of this wet mixture into the dry ingredients using a flat spatula, as you combine it all together to form a smooth batter
- This batter may be thick, so pour in the oil gradually until such a point where you are easily able to maneuver your spatula in the same. I used about 1/4th cup, add a couple spoons more if you think your batter is too thick. But, 1/4th cup should work fine.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when pierced in the center
- Once baked, allow to cool completely

Method for Mocha Cream Frosting
- Pour the whipping cream into a large preparation bowl
- Add the sugar, cocoa powder and instant coffee powder
- Using a hand blender, blend on medium until the cream forms soft peaks

Cake Assembly
- Once the cake is cooled completely, place it on your cake on the serving plate
- Using a ridged knife, cut it horizontally in the center and place the top layer, upside down, over another plate. If its sort of rocky you can smooth it out using a knife so that you have a flat final top layer to frost
- Using an offset spatula frost the lower layer. About 1/2 an inch of whipped mocha frosting should work great
- Place the upper layer on top and smooth out any whipped mocha frosting that may be seeping out of the two layers
- Next drop a huge dollop of whipped mocha frosting on the top layer and smooth all over the cake. Use a flat steel spatula and finish up any uneven surfaces
- Decorate frosted cake as you desire. I did up mine with left over whipped mocha cream

Makes about 12 slices.

And, since this cake's got its share of chocolate, it's off to join Madhuri's Chocolate Fest to celebrate her blog's first year!

An Announcement And An Award!

2010-11-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

No, I am not closing down SSTT. At least not yet! I hope to keep it going for as long as I can. But, for now, I am going to give my bloggy a little sabbatical. I'm off on a vacation for about three months (okay, shut that mouth and lower your eyebrows!) to our home-town. I will try and do posts from there, but I cannot really promise that because I have enough to do there already! Tell me, who'd have time when you are going to meet you folks after a good two years!!

Now, coming to the award. Suma of Cakes and More!!! has been generous enough to share an award with me. Thank you, Suma! With this award, you've given me motivation enough to have me come back and continue to keep posting on SSTT.

I'll have to get back to packing my bags now. So, I'll see you all in Feb/Mar 2011. Until then, wishing you all a very Happy Diwali, Merry Christmas, Joyous New Year, Happy Sankranti......Oh, well, every other festival that comes along your way until I come back. Dont for get to eat my share of goodies!

Ta and Haffun!

Saucy Indo-Chinese Coriander Garlic Chicken

2010-10-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

There's definitely something about the fusion of Indian ingredients with Chinese delicacies. Something that makes one wants to go back for more than one serving. And, that's exactly what happened to me when I ate this dish at an Indo-Chinese restaurant. The combination of a garlic-y sauce with lots of fresh corainder all done up into a gulp-me-down chicken gravy cannot be resisted by a die-hard Indo-Chinese food fanatic like me!

A few days after we devoured this, I began getting haunted by the flavours - almost as if they continued to linger over my tastebuds, daunting me. I simply had to try making my version of the same at home - and soon! So, I did and here it is, just for you!

So, quickly prepare yourself some fried rice to go with this and lay the table for a hearty meal!

Ingredients

1/2 lb Chicken, washed and cut into bite sized pieces

10 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2 tbsp garlic paste

2 tbsp ginger paste

1 Cup Coriander, washed and finely chopped (use the stems, too)

2-3 Red Chillies, diagonally sliced (Add more if you like to intensify the heat)

1/2 Cup Green bell peppers, cut into 1 inch squares

1/2 Cup Red bell peppers, cut into 1 inch squares

1/2 Cup Onions, diced into 1 inch cubes

2-3 tbsp Soy sauce

1/2 tsp Vinegar (White, distilled)

1/4 tsp Chillie Garlic Sauce (optional)

1/2 tsp corn flour

1/2 tbsp corn flour dissolved in 1/2 cup water (Yes, I know I said Corn flour just before this. I mean you keep aside both)

3 tbsp of oil (I've used Corn oil. You could use Sesame or Olive oil for added flavour)

And, of course, some salt to taste! (You can use ajinomoto instead)

Method

- Marinate the chicken in about 2 tbsp of soy sauce and set aside for half an hour

- Heat about 1.5 tbsp, and add the marinated chicken

- Fry until the pieces are sealed. This means they should all turn white from the outsides, but need not be cooked through

- Now, sprinnkle the 1/2 tsp of corn flour and fry the chicken for about 2-3 minutes

- Turn off flame and pick out the chicken pieces and drain on a kitchen towel/tissue

- Turn the flame back on, add the remaining 1.5tbsp of oil and let heat

- Toss in the finely chopped garlic and red chilles and stir for a few seconds

- Add, ginger paste and garlic paste and fry further for another couple seconds

- Now, add the cubed onions and fry until they begin to sweat

- Toss in the peppers and stir fry over medium-high heat. Do not overcook your veggies. Let them remain a little crisp since you will be boiling the gravy in the end. Noboby likes over-cooked, soggy vegetables in Chinese food!

- Lower the flame, toss in the remaining soy sauce, chillie garlic sauce (optional), and vinegar

- Stir for a few seconds and pour the stock/water

- Increase the flame back to high and slowly, carefully add the semi-fried chicken pieces

- Once the gravy begins to boil, add salt/ajinomoto

- Cover with a vented lid and cook on a medium flame until the chicken is cooked through

- Now, pour the corn flour dissolved in water and stir continuously. This thickens the gravy

- Pour the prepared gravy into a serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander, red chillies and julienned peppers

- Serve piping hot

Makes about 4 servings.

Quick n Easy White Chocolate Mousse

2010-10-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

I am a chocoholic. And, no that's no confession. It's a statement. Almost something that attributes to my personality. So much so that if you know me well enough, you would have no trouble in finding a gift for me if you're feeling overly generous when you drop by my place!

That said, I'd like to make things a little more specific. I am a milk-chocolate chocoholic. No other percentage of cocoa will do. And the absence of it simply fails to turn me on. Just like in the case of white chocolate. But once in a way we do buy these white angels, too. Unfortunately, for them, they do not get gobbled down as quickly as their relatively browner cousin. So...this half a bar of white chocolate sat in my friedge for a good 3 weeks. My eyes kept falling on them but neglecting them until yesterday, as I was browsing through Nigella Lawson's dessert videos on out very own web and something miraculous happened!

She fixed White Chocolate Mousse out of almost nothing. And, I had just the 'nothing' available on hand. You need not guess what we had for dessert last night!

Nigella used mint to flavour her mousse, while I decided to use pineapple essence and top it off with fresh fruit as you see. And, here is what I see....you drooling like a baby!!!

I had just enough ingredients to make us just one bowl of mousse - which in itself was pretty rich and heavy. You could almost call it one and a half servings!. But, if you want to make more just multiply the quantities below by the number of servings you wish to make.

Ingredients
1/4 Cup Cream
1/4 Cup White Chocolate
1 White of an egg
1/4 tsp Pineapple essence
Fresh Fruit (I used pineapples and stawberries)

Method
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds (depending on how powerful your MW is), checking on it every 10 seconds and stirring. You can use a double boiler as shown in Nigella's video, too.
- Set aside to cool. You could opt to place the bowl of molten chocolate (ah! I love the sound of that!) into another bowl of chilled water to quicken the cooling process. This is Madhuri's tip!
- Pour the cream into a large preparation bowl
- Drop the egg white and pour the essence into the bowl containing the cream
- Whip until it forms soft peaks
- Now, take about a spoonful of the whipped concoction and drop it into the molten white chocolate and fold in. This step prepares the reluctant white chocolate for all the froth that's coming its way!
- Next, pop the folded-in molten white chocolate back into the whipped concoction bowl and fold away until all the contents are well mixed. Take care not to be too rough on this one, else you will loose all the air you whipped in and the mousse will fall apart!
- Pour mousse into your serving bowl(s) [I suggest you use glass ones to show off the dessert]
- Top with fresh, sliced fruit (optional)
- Chill in the fridge for a couple hours (about 3 to 4 hours would be good enough) and serve

This recipe makes about 1.5 servings.

This bowl is off to party at Madhuri's Chocolate Fest as she celebrates one year of Cook-curry Nook.

Black Forest Cupcakes

2010-10-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

What's better than good food and great company? Well, it is pretty simple - Good food, great company and LOTS of chocolate. And, what makes all this even better? Serving all this to a bunch of wide-eyed toddlers eagerly waiting at the door as you walk in with a box of freshly baked and frosted Black Forest Cupcakes. Pure joy, I say! That is precisely what I did for my little sonny S, when he moved from his playschool to prep-school early this September. I know, I know it is over a month now - How in the blue blazes did I not post it so long? Oh well, better late than never, eh?

The kids (and the class teachers) enjoyed this treat. I sure wish you would, too. Go on and make them. These gorgeous babies are only a whisk away!

Ingredients
For Cupcakes
1.5 Cups All purpose flour
1.5 Cup Powdered/Confectioners Sugar
1.5 Cups Unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 Extra Large eggs
1.25 tsp Vanilla extract
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
5 tbsp Cocoa powder
1/3 cup Whole Milk
Pinch of Salt

For Assembly and Decoration
15 Maraschino cherries in syrup (without stems)
1/2 Cup of the syrup in which the cherries are bottled
1 Cup Whipped Cream
Method

- Preheat oven to 350F and line cupcake/muffin pan with baking cups
- Cream together butter and sugar and set aside
- In a large bowl, sift together all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder.
- Repeat the sifting process into another large bowl to make sure you have a homogenous mixture of all these dry ingredients
- Now, break eggs into another bowl and beat until fluffy/frothy (about 10-15 minutes) and doubled in quantity
- Pour the beaten eggs into the creamed sugar-butter mixture and beat again until well mixed
- Add the vanilla essense to this wet mixture
- Slowly pour and fold in small quantities of this wet mixture into the dry ingredients using a flat spatula, as you combine it all together to form a smooth batter.
- This batter may be thick, so pour in the milk gradually until such a point where you are easily able to maneuver your spatula in the same and batter is creamy
- Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake/muffin pan (My muffins are of about 1 3/4" base diameter) and bake for about 30 or until a toothpick comes out clean when pierced in the center of a cupcake
- Once baked, allow to cool completely
- Place cupcakes on a large plate
- Drizzle each cupcake with about 1tbsp of Cherry syrup
- Using a star nozzle, frost each one with whipped cream

Makes 15 drool-worthy cupcakes.

This batch, I send virtually, to adorn Madhuri's Chocolate Fest as she celebrates one year of Cook-curry Nook.

Kiddie Fruit and Veggie Raita

2010-09-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

They say parenting is all about being selfless and getting priceless rewards. In the process of being an incarnation of all these qualities, we end up emptying gallon after gallon of patience. I might sound like a horrible mother saying so, but I would say you must be blessed and lucky if your toddler gobbles down everything you stash on her plate - Veggies and fruit, included!

My sonny boy S is not a fussy eater really (knock on wood!), but just like all you mom's out there I like to go an extra step to make sure he gets his daily dose of fruit and veggies. So, to balance out the patience and nutrition equation I decided why not throw in almost everything I had on hand into his snack bowl with some whole milk yogurt and some chaat masala? Makes for a great side at lunch/dinner time or wonderful simply as a snack! (Talk about getting in that much needed calcium)The crispy texture of the fruit and veggies combined with the smooth notes rendered by the yogurt can tickle even the picky-est of tastebuds for sure.

Make this once and do NOT lie to me about the number of spoons you shoved down your throat before you passed the bowl over to your little one!

Ingredients
1/4 Cup Cucumber, chopped into tiny cubes
2 tbsp Tomato, finely chopped
2 tbsp Red Onion, finely chopped
1/4 Cup Corn kernels, boiled/steamed
1/4 Cup Carrot, chopped and boiled/steamed (You can use raw carrots if you are use your child will be able to chew them)
1/4 Cup Iceberg lettuce, shredded
1/4 Cup Apple, chopped into tiny cubes
2 tbsp Orange, peeled and chopped into tiny pieces
1/2 Cup Thick, whole milk yogurt (Swap with non-fat yogurt if needed)
1/2 tsp Chillie powder
1/2 tsp Chaat masala
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- In a large bowl, whip the yogurt to a smooth consistency
- Drop in all the veggies and fruit
- Add chillie powder, salt and stir until well mixed
- Top with chaat masala and serve chilled

Makes about 2 cups of scrummy raita!

Pineapple Pastry

2010-09-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

Did'nt I just make my first Black Forest Cake like a blink ago? Yes, I did. But once it was over, I was almost intoxicated by the rich tastes and memories it left behind...and not to forget, a great learning experience. And since it turned out so good, I was waiting to try my hand the next best pastry I've ever eaten (Oh yeah, chocolate comes first...at all times!) - The Pineapple Pastry. And as if God heard my prayers it happened to be my cousin brother's 15th wedding anniversary just a week after the idea grew in my head. What better excuse does an obsessed baker need?

Making this one is pretty much on the lines of making a Black Forest Cake. Just that you need to interchange all of the Chocolate and Cherry works with everything Pineapple! That said, I am going to get a wee bit lazy and make complete use of the Copy and Paste features that we're all blessed with on our computers, so that I save a little time on typing out all the similar aspects of making these two pastries.

And just because I said I will be copying a good chunk of the procedure from the Black Forest Cake does not mean I wont guide you at all. I will give you additional information along the way, where required, so stay awake and start reading up this humongous recipe. This is not just drool-able but VERY do-able, too!

Just the way I explained the Black Forest Cake, I have used the three-step procedure for this one too. Each of these can be done on three separate days or all on the same day.

Now for the recipe. Here goes:

STEP I - Baking the Pineapple Cake Base
STEP II - Layering and Basic Assembly
STEP III - Decorating the Cake to a Finished Product

STEP I - Baking the Pineapple Cake Base

This step involves baking a pineapple cake which acts as a base to the entire finished product. If you intend making a Pineapple cake anytime, save this right now!

Ingredients for the Pineapple Cake (Base of the Pineapple Pastry)
1 Cup All purpose flour (Maida)
1 Cup Confectioner's Sugar/Powdered Sugar
1 Cup Butter - Unsalted, at room temperature
3 Extra Large Eggs, at room temperature (If you are using small eggs, use 4 nos.)
3/4 tsp Baking powder
3/4 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Pineapple essence
1/4 Cup Milk
A pinch of salt

Method
- Preheat oven to 350F and prepare baking dish by smearing oil/butter all over the insides. Dust flour to evenly cover all parts of the dish to prevent the cake from sticking to it once baked
- Cream together butter and sugar and set aside
- In a large bowl, sift together all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Repeat the sifting process into another large bowl to make sure you have a homogenous mixture of all these dry ingredients
- Now, break eggs into another bowl and beat until fluffy/frothy (about 10-15 minutes) and doubled in quantity
- Pour the beaten eggs into the creamed sugar-butter mixture and beat again until well mixed
- Add the pineapple essense to this wet mixture
- Slowly pour and fold in small quantities of this wet mixture into the dry ingredients using a flat spatula, as you combine it all together to form a smooth batter
- This batter may be thick, so pour in the milk gradually until such a point where you are easily able to maneuver your spatula in the same and batter is creamy and luscious
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish (I have used a 9" round dish) and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when pierced in the center of the cake
- Once baked transfer the cake onto a cooling rack to allow the cake to come down to room temperature

If you intend continuing to STEP II, make sure the cake is completely cooled. But if you want to go to STEP II the next day, go ahead and place the cooled cake in the refrigerator overnight.

STEP II - Layering and Basic Assembly

This step involves cutting the cake into layers, dousing them in sugar syrup and topping them off with whipped cream and chopped pineapple pieces. Sound's easy breezy, does'nt it? Go ahead and do it!!

Take your cake out of the fridge and place it on your contertop until you grab the ingredients required to layer and frost it. This will allow the cake to come back to a warmer temperature before you flip it over your cake board/plate (The one on which you intend cutting it in the end). Now, get hold of all the following things from around your kitchen/pantry.

Ingredients
4t to 5 Cups - Whipped Cream/Topping (I used store bought ready-made whipped cream to save me some time. If you intend making it from scratch, go right ahead. Just whip together, in a chilled bowl, 3.5 Cups of heavy whipping cream along with 1/2 Cup (or more if needed) of Confectioner's sugar until it forms soft peaks)

1 Can of Pineapple Slices in syrup or in its own juice (I used pineapple slices in their own juice)

3/4 Cup Water and 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar/Regular sugar to make Sugar Syrup. If you want to skip using sugar syrup you can just use 1.25 Cups of Pineapple Juice

Method
- In a saucepan, combine the water and granulated sugar and set to a boil
- Once the sugar melts, turn off the heat and set aside to cool
- Now, head back to your cake and flip it over your cake board/plate. If you feel the cake is giving you a hard time flipping over (and if you have used a microwave safe dish to bake it) then toss the cake, prior to struggling to get it out of the baking dish, into the microwave for about 15-30 seconds. This will warm up the cake and allow for it to be easily lifted off (by slowly tugging at the sides using a broad off-set spatula) and flipped over onto your cake board. Yet, be careful as you do this so that you dont end up with a broken cake!
- If your cake seems to wobble, turn it back onto original position and smooth away any bulging parts (using the serrated/ridged knife) and flip again onto your cake board so you have a sturdy base to work with. You could place a paper towel below your work area for all the (yummy) mess that follows
- Using a serrated/ridged knife cut the cake into two slices horizontally to form a three layered cake. Remove layers and set aside. Remember in which order and direction you have placed them, lest you end up placing them back in the opposite/wrong way leading to an odd shaped cake after its all done!
- Separate the pineapple slices from the syrup/juice. Do NOT discard this. Keep aside in a bowl.
- Chop the pineapple slices randomly into small pieces and set aside in another bowl
- Now, take about 5 tbsp of the pineapple juice and mix it with the cooled down sugar syrup to give the cake some extra fruity flavouring. You could opt to skip using the sugar syrup and use pineapple juice entirely if you have enough on hand.
- At this point you should have one layer (the lowest one for the final cake) on your cake board. If not, place it on the same and mount it on your turn-table (Or put together a make-shift turn-table like I do - I just flip a large steel plate to place the cake, and then I mount this on my round chapati rolling stand. Works just perfectly!)
- Lightly drizzle about 1/3rd of the quantity of the pineapple-sugar syrup (or pineapple juice) over this layer of the cake, covering the entire surface area. This step is what gives the final cake that super moist texture!
- Now, scoop about 1 Cup of the whipped cream and drop the humongous dollop onto the lowest layer using a frosting spatula
- Spread all over the layer covering it completely such that you have a thick layer of whipped cream on it. Add more cream if you think your cream layer is not too thick since this is dependant on what size of a baking dish you used/size of your cake. A 1/2 to 3/4th inch thick layers of cream seem fine to me, but indulge if you like more!
- Now, sprinkle the chopped pineapple pieces over this cream layer
- Place the middle layer on top of this. Smooth out any cream that seems to be seeping out between the layers and place in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes to set
- Pull out and mount the cake back on the turn-table. Repeat application of the the sugar-pineapple syrup/pineapple juice Top up this layer too with the whipped cream and pineapple pieces and place the top-most/final layer
- To this top-most layer just drizzle the sugar-pineapple syrup/pineapple juice
- Now, using the frosting spatula pick up a dollop of whipped cream and roughly smear it all over the cake (both on top and around the sides). Smooth out rough parts and pop the semi-finished cake back in the refrigerator to allow the flavours to marry overnight before you finish up the main finishing with whipped cream and final decoration

STEP III - Decorating the Cake to a Finished Product

This step involves coating the cake with a smooth layer of whipped cream and topping it up with all that you desire. I have explained how I have decorated the cake you see up here, but go ahead and get creative!

Yup, yup! We're almost done and I am SO proud that you've read this far. Keep going...your divine dessert awaits you at the end of all this.

Ingredients
Left over whipped cream (Or about 1.5 Cups)
12 pieces of pineapple, drained completely, washed and wiped down gently to remove any syrup or juice(I just quartered the canned slices to get equal sized pieces)
12 Maraschino stemmed cherries, drained completely, washed and wiped down gently to remove all the syrup and water
Cake Icing Comb OR A long piece of cardboard about an inch wide (I will tell you why you will need this in a wee bit!)
Piping bag(s), star nozzle

Method to finish the cake with whipped cream
-Take small dollops of whipped cream and apply a layer of cream over the sides of the cake as you simultanuously rotate your turntable. Use smooth back and forth motions to cover the entire cake (sides) evenly. Dont worry too much about tiny peaks and valleys. We'll work on them in a few steps.

- Drop about 1/2 Cup of whipped cream on top of the cake and spread out evenly using a flat spatula
- Run your spatula against the top edge to remove any excess cream between the sides and the top of the cake
- Now dip a steel frosting spatula in cold water (Yup I had said hot water in my Black Forest Cake but I tried cold water and you can see it has worked wonders for the finishing!). Wipe dry with a towel and spread out any uneven parts of the frosted cake as you rotate the turntable, to get a smooth finished look

Method to decorate the cake the way I have
- Measure the height of the cake using the cardboard and cut at cake's height.
- Using scissors, make ridges on the length-side of the cardboard to resemble a comb
- Place this ridged cardboad piece alongside the side of your cake in one position and rotate the cake in an anti-clockwise direction to get the lines on the sides. Follow this video for a more clear idea. They've shown a cake icing comb here. I dont have one, so I did the above steps using the cardboard make-shift comb!
- Make sure you carefully left of the comb and drop all the left-over icing aside
- Now, attach the star nozzle and fill your piping bag with whipped cream
- Pipe 12 equidistant swirls on the edges of the cake (This is considering your cake is a 9" round. Work your way up or down the number of swirls depending on the shape/size of your cake)
- Place stemmed maraschino cherries on each in a slightly diagonal position
- Place pineapple slices between the swirls in a diagonal position
- Again using the star nozzled piping bag pipe continuous swirls on the base/bottom of the cake and you are all set to devour this fantasy!

But just before you do so, I would recommend that you pop the finished cake back in the fridge (I know you are like - "What the hell...do I ever eat it?") for a few hours more just to set the decoration and then it is ALL yours!

Here is a pretty sad picture of the slice that I managed to click. What a lousy way to wind up such a great recipe! Well, you cannot blame me...we got too busy eating the cake and this is all I ended up with. So, how about you baking one for yourself and sharing the picture with me? Go to the nearest supermarket right now and get baking, will ya?!

Masala Chicken Burgers

2010-09-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I made these now. Over a month really. Somehow, I got too carried away posting cakes and bakes and these drool-worthy fellas sat on the back burners, awaiting their chance to get published on SSTT.

Would'nt it be a shame on me if I had not tried making burgers at home living in the country that almost eats them as a staple meal? What had me running to fetch the ingredients for the same was the show - The Next Food Network Star. Why? This showcased competitors (chefs or otherwise) who'd compete to win a show on the network. Nice, eh? I had my eyes on one participant - Aarti Sequiera, an Indian, who was mixing Indian flavours onto American classics with so much ease, that I simply HAD to do something on those lines at home. Thanks Aarti, for the inspiration! The outcome - Juicy Indo-American Chicken Burgers! Oh and yes Aarti won the challenge and hosts her show on Food Network. She's already had 3 episodes on TV and she sure rocks! Check out her page here. And, when you're done, read up my recipe!

Now, stop drooling and grab those ingredients. This one's so easy, you could be eating it even before you think.

Ingredients
1 lb Ground Chicken
1 Cup Onion, minced
2 Celery stalks, finely chopped
8 Garlic pods, minced
1 inch Ginger piece, grated
1/2 Cup Fresh coriander, finely chopped
4 green chillies, finely chopped (Adjust number of chillies according to your needs)
1 Bay leaf
2 Cloves
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Red chillie powder or chillie flakes
3 tbsp Olive oil (Or any other cooking oil)
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- In a wide, non-stick vessel pour oil and allow to heat
- Drop in the bay leaf
- Once it crackles, throw in the cloves
- Add chopped onions and fry for about a minute
- Toss in the green chillies, ginger, garlic and fry
- Once all these ingredients seem cooked, add the red chillie powder and garam masala powder and stir for about a minute on low flame so that the spices do not burn
- Drop in the chopped celery and coriander and stir fry for another minute
- Turn off flame and yank out the bay leaf so that you dont end up having the whole leaf in any of your burgers
- Place the ground chicken in a large prepartion bowl
- Add the prepared 'masala' to the ground chicken
- Add salt
- Mix well
- Make round burgers/patties the width of the buns you have on hand. Do not make them too thick else they will not cook in the center
- Heat about 2 tsp of oil on a non-stick griddle (you can even use a stove-top grill pan if you have one) and fry burgers until fully cooked
- Add more oil on the burgers as they cook, if needed
- Drain away any excess oil after they are done by placing cooked burgers on paper towel

Makes over a dozen delicious burgers! (Mine were about 3 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick)

Stack them up along with red onions, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, mayo and the works. Serve 'em with or without fries and down them with a chilled glass of lemonade! Satisfaction guarenteed!

Strawberry Shrikhand

2010-08-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

This summer saw a lot of mangoes enter our home. Crate after crate, one after the other! And, there's almost no guessing who downed a major portion of the fruit. I ate mangoes as a part of breakfast, lunch, at snack-time, dinner, dessert, cooked, in-the-raw...and just every time I caught the tantalizing aroma of them ripening on my countertop. So, quite obviously bidding adieu to the king of fruit was'nt an easy task.

The one dish that we prepare at home without amiss every summer is Mango Shrikhand or Aamrakhand. This is a wonderful combination of mango puree and sweetened hung yogurt, blended with aromatic spices, saffron and pistachio. It find's its roots in the Indian state of Maharashtra, where this mouth-watering sweet treat is served mostly with puris (puffed-up, deep fried whole wheat dough circles).

As mangoes seem to be slowly vanishing from market stands, I decided to twist things up a bit and make the same dish using the fruit that was still in season - Strawberries! Of course, I skipped the spices and other additions because the berries and their seeds passed on enough flavouring and texture to the hung yogurt all by themselves. Try it out and you will know what I mean.

Oh and yes, I decided to take this to a whole new level with a simple change in the basic recipe. Read up to know more!

Ingredients
2 Cups - Vanilla Yogurt (Yup! That's the fresh twist! Here, I used low-fat. You can use regular yogurt if you do not find vanilla flavoured yogurt)
1/2 Cup - Granulated sugar/Regular sugar
4 to 5 Strawberries (Use fresh, ripe berries if possible)
Muslin cloth or a clean, thin, cotton towel

I normally prepare the hung yogurt the previous night to make sure all the water is drained out of the yogurt. Once I have this ready, strawberry shrikhand is ready in a jiffy the next day and doing so helps especially when you are making this for a crowd! You could of course, make the whole thing on the same day. It's really not as much work although the recipe seems long! Best part is you hardly need too many strawberries..so the next time you have just a couple of them stocked up awaiting to be eaten, you know what to stir up!!

Method to prepare hung yogurt- Spread the muslin cloth/kitchen towel over a large bowl

- Dunk the yogurt onto this cloth
- Gather the ends of the cloth and tie it up. The water content in the yogurt (whey) will start falling through the cloth into the bowl
- Squeeze out as much water as you can with your hands
- Tie this up to your faucet over your sink or the same bowl you used earlier and allow all the water content/whey to drain away
- Keep the yogurt tied up for about 6 hours or overnight for the best hung yogurt!

Method to prepare Strawberry Shrikhand
- Wash, hull and puree strawberries and set aside
- Transfer the hung yogurt into a bowl
- Add the sugar to the yogurt and blend into a smooth paste like consistency
- Add the stawberry puree gradually and blend in to uniform texture
- Ensure you do not add too much of the puree. Add just enough to render the strawverry flavour into the hung yogurt (Now, you know why I have the puree swirl in my pic, eh?!)
- Place in refridgerator until ready to serve

Makes a little less than 1 Cup of Strawberry Shrikhand. Oh man, I should have made more! Well, next time :)

Serve chilled Strawberry Shrikhand with fresh berries (psst..and dress it up with any left-over puree) for a colourful dessert....and your family and friends will be 'berry' happy with what they see and taste. It is no wonder then, that this sweetheart of a dish is on its way to Sanyukta's Event - A Visual Treat. I hope you enjoy the presentation, colours and plating of this dish as much as I did, Sanyukta!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

2010-08-12T07:44:00.000-07:00

Summer's is slowly winding down. Although the humidity has'nt given up, if you take a hard look at the trees outside you cannot miss the random yellow or orange leaf, hushing in autumn. And that, my pal, is enough excuse for me to not turn off the oven!! When you get hooked to baking, this is what happens. All you need is an excuse. Tee hee.

Weather is just one of the umpteen number of factors (read excuses) that automatically make my hand clasp the whisk and the oven mitts. These days it's my toddler! He's begun enjoying muffins after having eaten them at his playschool. Thank God for that...and that too right in time when I bought my new muffin pan, which I inaugurated by baking a batch of Carrot Muffins. This time around I decided I will pack in a punch of anti-oxidant rich blueberries.

The very idea of feeding him something as wholesome as a muffin that's home-made, with whole wheat and fruit, every morning with a cool glass of milk or juice for his breakfast has totally captured me. And, I am sure it sounds interesting to you too, does'nt it?

Oh, and I simply had to throw in those dainty, red raspberries for the picture. They're so photogenic, I tell you...they livened up the frame almost instantly!

Ingredients
3/4 cup Whole Wheat flour
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar/Regular Sugar
3/4 cup Butter, unsalted, at room temperature
A pinch of Salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Fresh Blueberries, washed (If you opt to use frozen berried, defreeze, wash and drain them of all the water before using)

Method
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Spray/Oil over muffin pan and set aside
- Sift the whole wheat flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl
- Cream together butter and sugar
- Beat the egg in another separate bowl and add it to the creamed butter-sugar mixture
- Toss in the vanilla extract to the above wet mixture
- Now, slowly stir in this wet mixture into the flour and mix until its makes a thick batter
- If the batter is too thick you could add a few spoons (Just a FEW - Do Not over do because you should not have runny batter. Don't EVER go there!) of milk to make it smooth
- Fold in the blueberries using a spatula into the batter
- Line prepared muffin pan with paper baking cups and pour batter into each, upto about 3/4th of the cup. (I have used a pan that has a 1 3/4 inch (4.5cm) base diameter)
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes off clean out of the center
- Cool completely and serve

Makes 8 moist muffins

Black Forest Cake

2010-08-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

While baking regular cakes and frosting them for every birthday in the family became a routine, the only stone left unturned was to try and bake the master of all things pastry - Black Forest Cake. Just the three words all by themselves have the power to get anybody into an indulgent mood. That said, this year I decided I would take the plunge and try my hand at baking this divine dessert for my hubby's birthday (psst... and mine, too, which followed!)The last two weeks saw me making frequent trips to the grocery store as I tried to put together all the ingredients needed to make this fabulous cake long before the big day. Besides, since the procedure is a bit long drawn (But it is definitely not difficult! If I can do it so can you!!) I decided to spread the whole baking and decorating process over three days. If you love eating and baking, you will enjoy every single moment of putting together this luxurious cake!

So, two days prior to the birthday, I baked the Chocolate Cake which forms the base of the entire Black Forest Cake. One day ahead, I did the layering and basic assembly of the cake using sugar syrup, cherries and whipped cream. By this time, my cake had trippled in size and it sat the lowest rack in my refrigerator and I kept my fingers crossed that hubby dear would not notice it, since it was enrobed in cream and sort of got camouflaged into the white colour in the fridge. I decided to hit the sack early that night (although excitement of finishing up the cake decoration and all sorts of ideas kept me from falling asleep for a long, long time) and as I walked towards the bedroom I did the most stupid thing I'd have ever done in my whole life. I asked hubby - "Did you open the fridge this evening?". He was like, "Umm..No. But what kind of a question is that?". He obviously thought I was insane. Then I went ahead and said, "Oh why? Can I not ask you anything like that?" Good lord!! What was I talking? He smirked.

I decided that very moment to grab him down to open the fridge. Would you believe that? I showed him the cake that sat shabbily covered in whipped cream. I simply had to do it, lest he ends up dropping something on the cake if he wanted something from the fridge while I was asleep. I had done some random design on it with my star nozzle. Sadly, even after buying everything for the cake, I forgot to pick up piping bags for the frosting of the whipped cream and the damn nozzle kept slipping inside my zip-top plastic bag as I piped. So, I did the worst frosting work ever and ended up making the cake look like a pathetic attempt to decorate a wedding cake (which you see below) and decided to wake up early the next day to really fix things up to make it look perfect. He smiled on seeing the shabby cake and said "Thank you". I was like "Ugh! Guess what cake it is, will you?" (We women never quit, do we?) He goes, "How in God's world would I know....you have bathed the whole thing in cream!!" That had us all in peels of laughter. So, I told him I would save at least that bit for his surprise the next day. And, on my hubby's birthday I gave the cake its finishing touches and final decoration just before he woke up - all in time for the surprise!!

Here's a pic of the disastrous decoration that sat in my fridge awaiting repair work.....

The next morning I woke up about half an hour early and fixed the decoration. I placed the done-up cake on the counter. The moment he freshened up and came out of the bathroom, I beckoned him into the kitchen to see and guess what sat awaiting him!

"Oh....Black Forest, huh! That looks good!". Was I relieved or what?! Now, so much for having bored you to death with that long story. But, good food is worth long stories, right? Ok. Ok! Here's the recipe!

Oh hang on!!! Before I jump into it, just one last thing. I've split up this recipe for a three layered cake into three steps:

STEP I - Baking the Chocolate Cake Base

STEP II - Layering and Basic Assembly

STEP III - Decorating the Cake to a Finished Product

I feel I've gone back to my Technical Writing profession talking about steps and procedures as write User Manuals all over again! Well well!

So, each of these steps can be done one day at a time. Now, that's easy, is'nt it?

STEP I - Baking the Chocolate Cake Base

This step involves baking a choclate cake which acts as a base to the entire finished product. If you intend to make Chocolate cake anytime, just follow this one and you'll have a moist chocolate cake ready in no time!

Ingredients for the Chocolate Cake (Base of the Black Forest cake)

1 Cup All purpose flour (Maida)

1 Cup Confectioner's Sugar/Powdered Sugar

1 Cup Butter - Unsalted, at room temperature

3 Extra Large Eggs, at room temperature (If you are using small eggs, use 4 nos.)

3/4 tsp Baking powder

3/4 tsp Baking soda

3.5 tbsp Cocoa powder

1 tsp Vanilla essence

1/4 Cup Milk

A pinch of salt

Method

- Preheat oven to 350F and prepare baking dish by smearing oil/butter all over the insides. Dust flour to evenly cover all parts of the dish to prevent the cake from sticking to it once baked

- Cream together butter and sugar and set aside

- In a large bowl, sift together all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Repeat the sifting process into another large bowl to make sure you have a homogenous mixture of all these dry ingredients

- Now, break eggs into another bowl and beat until fluffy/frothy (about 10-15 minutes) and doubled in quantity

- Pour the beaten eggs into the creamed sugar-butter mixture and beat again until well mixed

- Add the vanilla essense to this wet mixture

- Slowly pour and fold in small quantities of this wet mixture into the dry ingredients using a flat spatula, as you combine it all together to form a smooth batter.

- This batter may be thick, so pour in the milk gradually until such a point where you are easily able to maneuver your spatula in the same and batter is all creamy and dreamy

- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish (I have used a 9" round dish) and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when pierced in the center of the cake

- Once baked transfer the cake onto a cooling rack to allow the cake to come down to room temperature

If you intend continuing to STEP II, make sure the cake is completely cooled. But if you want to go to STEP II the next day, go ahead and place the cooled cake in the refrigerator overnight.

STEP II - Layering and Basic Assembly

This step involves cutting the cake into layers, dousing them in sugar syrup and topping them off with whipped cream and chopped cherries. Sound's easy breezy, does'nt it? Go right ahead and do it!

Take your cake out of the fridge and place it on your contertop until you grab the ingredients required to layer and frost it. This will allow the cake to come back to a warmer temperature before you flip it over your cake board/plate (The one on which you intend cutting it in the end). Now, get hold of all the following things from around your kitchen/pantry.

Ingredients

4 Cups - Whipped Cream/Topping (I used store bought ready-made whipped cream to save me some time. If you intend making it from scratch, go right ahead. Just whip together, in a chilled bowl, 3.5 Cups of heavy whipping cream along with 1/2 Cup (or more if needed) of Confectioner's sugar until it forms soft peaks)

1 Bottle of Maraschino cherries (without stems) in syrup

3/4 Cup Water

3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar (Regular sugar)

Method

- In a saucepan, combine the water and granulated sugar and set to a boil

- Once the sugar melts, turn off the heat and set aside to cool

- Now, head back to your cake and flip it over your cake board/plate. If you feel the cake is giving you a hard time flipping over (and if you have used a microwave safe dish to bake it) then toss the cake, prior to struggling to get it out of the baking dish, into the microwave for about 15-30 seconds. This will warm up the cake and allow for it to be easily lifted off (by slowly tugging at the sides using a broad off-set spatula) and flipped over onto your cake board. Yet, be careful as you do this so that you dont end up with a broken cake!

- If your cake seems to wobble, turn it back onto original position and smooth away any bulging parts (using the serrated/ridged knife) and flip again onto your cake board so you have a sturdy base to work with. You could place a paper towel below your work area for all the (yummy) mess that follows

- Using a serrated/ridged knife cut the cake into two slices horizontally to form a three layered cake. Remove layers and set aside. Remember in which order and direction you have placed them, lest you end up placing them back in the opposite/wrong way leading to an odd shaped cake after its all done!

- Separate the cherries (I used only 3/4th of a 16oz./1lb bottle) from the syrup. Do NOT discard the syrup. Keep aside in a bowl.

- Chop cherries randomly into small pieces and set aside in another bowl

- (Optional step) Now, take about 5 tbsp of the cherry syrup and mix it with the cooled down sugar syrup to give the cake some extra cherry flavouring.
- At this point you should have one layer (the lowest one for the final cake) on your cake board. If not, place it on the same and mount it on your turn-table (Or put together a make-shift turn-table like I do - I just flip a large steel plate to place the cake, and then I mount this on my round chapati rolling stand. You can see it in one of the images below. Works just perfectly!)

- Lightly drizzle about 1/3rd of the quantity of the sugar syrup (or sugar-cherry syrup if you've included the previous step) over this layer of the cake, covering the entire surface area. This step is what gives the final cake that super moist texture!
- Now, scoop about 1 Cup of the whipped cream and drop the humongous dollop onto the lowest layer using a frosting spatula
- Spread all over the layer covering it completely such that you have a thick layer of whipped cream on it. Add more cream if you think your cream layer is not too thick since this is dependant on what size of a baking dish you used/size of your cake. A 1/2 to 3/4th inch thick layers of cream seem fine to me, but indulge if you like more!
- Now, sprinkle the chopped cherries over this cream layer. Your done-up layer should look similar to the image below

- Place the middle layer on top of this. Smooth out any cream that seems to be seeping out between the layers and place in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes to set

- Pull out and mount the cake back on the turn-table. Repeat spplication of the the sugar/sugar-cherry syrup, topped up with the whipped cream and cherries to this layer and place the top-most/final layer

- To this top-most layer just drizzle the sugar/sugar-cherry syrup

- Now, using the frosting spatula drop about 1/2 to 3/4th cup of whipped cream and frost the entire cake. Your cake should look somewhat similar to the image below

- Don't worry too much if its not a very smooth coating all over since you can fix that in the next step

For now, place this frosted cake in the refrigerator overnight to allow all the flavours to marry, and try to get a good night's rest for the big day: The day you'd finish decorating and cutting and most importantly EATING the cake!

STEP III - Decorating the Cake to a Finished Product

This step involved coating the cake with a smooth layer of whipped cream and topping it up with all that you desire. Yup, yup! We're almost done and I am SO proud that you've read this far. Keep going...your divine dessert awaits you at the end of all this.

Ingredients

Left over whipped cream (You should have about 1.5 Cups left since we used only 2.5 cups before this)

4 oz bar of Semi-sweet Chocolate (I used Hersheys)
2-3 tbsp Chocolate syrup (I used Hersheys, again. I should probably rename this cake to Hersheys Black Forest cake, eh?)
A handful of Maraschino cherries, drained completely (You can use stemmed ones here if you wish)

Method
- Chop the chocolate into slivers/shavings using a sharp, ridged knife and set aside in a bowl/box back in the fridge, so as to avoid melting
- Take small dollops of whipped cream and apply a layer of cream over the sides of the cake as you simultanuously rotate your turntable. Use smooth back and forth motions to cover the entire cake (sides) evenly. Dont worry too much about tiny peaks and valleys. We'll work on them in a few steps.
- Drop about 1/2 Cup of whipped cream on top of the cake and spread out evenly using a flat spatula
- Run your spatula against the top edge to remove any excess cream between the sides and the top of the cake
- Now dip a steel frosting spatula, in hot water, wipe with a towel and spread out any uneven parts of the frosted cake as you rotate the turntable, to get a smooth finished look
- Using a wide spatula, dab on the slivered chocolate on to the sides of the cake. I hope you still have that paper under your turntable. Don't tell me that I did not caution you against this yummy mess!!
- Be careful while doing this so that you dont lose out on the smooth finish of the cake. You can still see some flaws in mine! I really have to work on frosting cakes!!
- Place cherries one inch apart on the edge of the top of the cake
- Now, pipe dollops of whipped cream between each cherry
- Drizzle the chocolate syrup in a zig zag pattern and voila!

WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!!! Pop the cake in your fridge for a couple more hours to set it. Take it out just about 20-30 minutes prior to cake cutting/serving time. I like it that way 'cuz it gets the juices flowing as the cake comes to room temperature. But, if you like it really chilled, go ahead and dig in.

You still here? Ok, nice! Now, cut up a slice of your Black Forest Cake (Ah! finally we get to call it that!) and thank the creator of this world to have given humanity the capability to create something this fabulous. As for me, I am off to sing the popular hindi song - "Tera mujhse hain pehle ka naata koi, yuhin nahi dil lubhata koi" (You share a long-lost bond with me...How else would somebody seem so dear to my heart?!) to the last slice of my Black Forest Cake!

Makes 12 slices of pure joy!

I'm sending this one to Madhuri's Chocolate Fest as she celebrates the first anniversary of her blog, Cook-curry Nook.

Chicken Manchurian

2010-07-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

I have'nt till date met a person who despises Manchurian - chicken or otherwise. It's no surprise that this dish has found its way to the streets of India. And, as always, we Indians manage to add our 'tadka' to everything that hits our shore - be it food or anything else! Indo-Chinese cuisine is one such product. Like Chinese food itself was'nt hearty and filling, we jazz it up to suit our tastebuds and churn out plate after plate on every other street/restaurant.

I can still feel the heat from the chillies in the Cauliflower Manchurian and Vegetable Noodles I used to eat at least twice a week at the street-food vendor back in my college days. Some metabolism I had, eh?! Oh, that feels like ages ago and I am beginning to feel old saying all this. So , before I get way too nostalgic, let me get down to sharing this scrummy recipe with you!

Ingredients

2 lb Chicken breasts (You can use bone-in or boneless) - Washed and cut into bite sized pieces

1/4th Cup Cornflour dissolved in 3/4 cup of water
5 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2inch stick of Ginger, grated
1 Cup Onions, julienned
3/4 Cup Chopped Scallions (Green Onions)
3 Green Chillies, chopped
1/4 Cup Fresh Coriander sprigs, chopped
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
2-3 tbsp Chilie sauce
1/2 tsp Red Chillie powder
1/2 tsp Ajinomoto (I just use very little to give the dish some authentic Chinese flavour. This is optional. You can use only regular salt, too, if you're not feeling that indulgent)
Oil
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- Heat oil in a wok/kadai
- Stir the cornflour in the water to form a thin batter. Add some salt and the red chillie powder to this to give it some flavour
- Dip the chicken pieces in this batter and deep fry. Place fried chicken pieces on paper towel drain any excess oil. Oh, yeah let's try to get a wee bit close to being healthy at least at one step ;)
- Now in a shallow saucepan, heat about 2 tbsp. of oil and add the green chillies, garlic, ginger and onions and stir until the onions are transparent
- Add the coriander and stir further
- Lower the flame and pour in the sauces
- Now add ajonomoto and some more salt and fry for a good minute on a medium flame
- Toss in half the scallions and fry for about 30 seconds
- Add fried chicken pieces and fry until well coated with sauce mixture
- Sprinkle left over scallions and serve hot

SERVES 2-3

Super-soft Low-fat Eggless Whole Wheat Carrot Muffins

2010-07-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

Over time, baking (to me) has become both an obsession and therapy. I bake when I am happy. I bake when I am sad. And, sometimes (almost all the time, really) there needs to be no excuse for me to bake. Just the joy of having the wafts of something miraculous happening in my oven gives me a high that I would think no drink could! But, this time around I did have an excuse to bake. I bought a new muffin pan (and why do I feel like a kid confessing he/she secretly bought a new toy? Haha!). Just as you guessed, it did not end at that. I had to use it the very same day...and that's exactly what I did.

These muffins to me are very special. (Bahahaha! I know you're like say something new..who does'nt like muffins?!) Well, I have a solid reason this time around. I've always wanted to master baking. I know I am still thousands of miles away from it, but I sure want to get there - and what a delicious run it is indeed! After I started blogging and associating with so many people who really push the limits to how much you can do, my food-adventurous-side really got all fired up! Everytime I baked (until yesterday), I would take a look at some recipe online at least to make sure I knew my measurements right. But, these muffins happen to be my very FIRST experiment with baking where I have not taken a single peek at anything - online or otherwise. I had my heart in my hand as the oven did its work, and boy, was I happy at the end of it all!!

Now, with all that said, I would be a really stupid person if I do not give credit to Madhuri for having introduced me to just how delicious baked goods can be without eggs. Thanks babe! In this recipe, I've used flax seeds to replace eggs. I still remember discussing the goodness of these seeds with another friend of mine who suggested I could even add them to making chapathis etc. My instant response was, "Chapathis? No WAY! I do not want to waste them like that when you can bake with them!" *devilish grin*. And if you've been an avid follower of SSTT you'd have noticed the Microwave Chocolate Cake (Thanks to Madhuri, all over again!) I had mentioned that I was going to experiment on it. I did just that. I traded the all-purpose flour for whole wheat to keep things as healthy as I could. Also, this time I did not use the microwave and the results with the regular oven, as you can see, were fantastic, too!

I bought the muffin pan yesterday, baked these yesterday, clicked the pics today and posted it out here too! That should tell you just how excited I am about baking. LOL! Okay, let me stop jabbering and give you the recipe, NOW!

Ingredients

3/4 cup Whole Wheat flour
3/4 cup brown sugar (tightly packed)
A pinch of Salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp Vanilla extract
3 tsp roasted and fine-ground flax seeds mixed in 1/2 cup warm water (Or two eggs. If you opt to use eggs increase the quantity of the whole wheat flour by a fourth of a cup i.e. 1 cup)
Between 1/3 - 1/2 cup Whole Milk
Between 1/3 - 1/2 cup Cooking Oil (I've used Sunflower)
1/2 Cup grated carrots

Method
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Spray/Oil muffin pan and set aside
- Sift the whole wheat flour into a large bowl
- Add brown sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda and stir well
- Toss in the vanilla extract, oil and whole milk and mix well. This batter will be very thick
- Now, give a slight stir to the flax seeds in the warm water and add them to this batter
- Add grated carrots
- Whisk for about 5 minutes
- Line prepared muffin pan with paper baking cups and pour batter into each, upto about 3/4th of the cup. (I have used a pan that has a 1 3/4 inch (4.5cm) base diameter)
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes off clean out of the center of a muffin
- Cool completely and serve

Makes 12 'I-want-one-NOW' muffins.

Go ahead and bake them in dozens...then stock 'em up in your fridge. Warm them up for a couple seconds in the morning and you will no excuse to skip breakfast ever again!

Green Beans and Egg Burji

2010-07-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

It's the beginning of the week (yet again!) and you're oh-so-bored already. The last thing on your mind would be to slave in the kitchen to fix yourself a meal. Yet, you don't (and cannot if you have kids, especially!) want to sacrifice on healthy food. Green Beans and Egg Burji should be the answer to all these questions. Healthy, hearthy and filling it is! I am sure you thought I was talking about two different dishes. Well well.. this is just a new take on the plain old scrambled egg. And what's more, this little side dish provides you with your daily dose of protein and fiber. With a few chapathis or phulkas to accompany this burji you have a great dinner, ready in less time than you think!

Ingredients

1.5 cups Chopped green beans

2 Eggs, beaten lightly

3 Green Chillies, slit (Add more if you desire!)

1/2 Cup Onion, chopped

1 tsp Jeera

1 tsp Mustard Seeds

1 tbsp Urad Dal

1/2 tsp Ground pepper

Oil

And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method

- Boil/Microwave green beans until cooked and set aside

- In a non-stick saucepan, heat oil and add the mustard seeds

- Once, they splutter add jeera and urad dal and fry for a few seconds
- Throw in the green chillies and fry them for a couple

- Add onions and stir until translucent

- Toss in the beans, add salt and stir for about 30 seconds

- Now, lower the flame, add some salt and the ground pepper to the beaten egg and stir it into the beans mixture in the saucepan

- Increase the flame to medium and continuously stir as the egg begins to cook, so as to scramble it along with the beans

- Continue doing so until all of the egg is completely cooked

- Adjust salt and pepper as desired and serve hot with chapathis/phulkas

SERVES 2

Nan Kathai

2010-07-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

If you have been wondering why there is so much silence on SSTT, its simply because I've been too busy. Too busy - enjoying myself this summer! We're planning trips and heading outdoors almost every weekend and making sure we stock up on loads of snacks to-go. That being said, one fine day I decided I had to dish up something all by myself. Something that we could throw into a zip-top bag and take it with us to munch as we rolled down the highway. And, right then I remembered this crunchy little, long forgotten (in my case) Indian cookie - Nan Kathai. Of course I did not know how to put it together...but why do we have the internet?! I remember having come across this one on Manjula's Kitchen - A site that I refer a lot of times when I want to 'see' how to make stuff rather than just read. You should look it up. She has some great videos wherein she explains recipes with utmost patience and makes it all seem like a breeze!

Ingredients

1/3 cup all purpose flour (maida)

1/3 cup fine semolina/rava/sooji
1/2 cup gram flour (besan)
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

A pinch of baking soda
1/4 tsp green cardamom seed coarsely powder (Elaichi powder)
2 tbsp Mixture of finely sliced almonds and pistachios

Method
- Pre heat the oven to 375 degree.

- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until completely blended. I cannot resist myself from eating a glob of this! Horrible, I am, eh?!
- In another bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, semolina, gram flour, baking soda and cardamom powder and set aside
- Add this to the butter and sugar mixture and knead together to make soft, smooth dough
- Make small, equal sized balls of the dough (about 1 inch in diameter)
- Press each ball between your palms to form the shape of a thick cookie and place on a greased cookie/baking sheet
- Dab each nan kathai cookie with a pinch of the almonds and pistachios
- Place nan kathais in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until nan khatais are lightly gold brown
- Allow nan kathais to cool down completely before taking off cookie/baking sheet

Makes about 20 light, crunchy nan kathai - Perfect for tea-time, travel-time or just about any time!!

Chunky Mango Salsa

2010-06-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

There is almost nothing as seductive as the aroma of mangoes ripening on your kitchen counter-top. So inviting, that I could never complete my cooking without my arms involuntarily reaching out to one, to gorge it down as I worked. This year since my little one ate it for the first time, and took a liking for it (tell me one person on earth who does not like mangoes, anyway!) we ended buying them more often than before. And, with temperatures soaring sky high, we almost never have a meal without something to cool us down - a salad, raita or just a simple fruit at the end of a hot day. Now, who would think of any other fruit when you have mangoes on hand, eh? But, how about mangoes and cucumbers? One sweet, one cool and crunchy...And, how about some onions in the mix? And a couple of spices may be? My imagination was running wild and my salivary glads were working over-time just at the thought of it all. Call it a salad, salsa or a dip this chunky fella is going to stay on your summer to-do lists for a long time!

I know this is probably the worst click I've ever shot (not like my others are too good or anything!), but this what what was left-over after the entire dish was devoured by my family. So, churn this one up real quick and save some up for yourself in a place where no one else would ever find it!

Ingredients
1 Mango - Washed and diced
1/2 Cucumber - Washed and diced (Peel them if you do not like the skin. We like ours with it on.)
1/2 Medium Red Onion - Chopped
1/2 Green Bell Pepper/Capsicum - Washed and Diced (Feel free to add any other colour peppers too, like what Pallavi has suggested [see comments])
1/2 tsp Red chillie powder (Add more if you desire!)
1 tbsp Lemon juice
And, of course, some salt to taste! (Dont add too much here)

Method
- In a large bowl, mix together the lemon juice, red chillie powder and salt
- Add the cucumber, mango and red onion and stir
- Serve chilled

If you want to make it ahead of time, save adding the salt and chillie powder for the last minute.

SERVES 3

Veggie Thai Curry - Customized!

2010-06-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

Thai cuisine was as new to me as the country itself. Not that I have ever been there, but coming to the US sure did give me scope enough to hog on different types of cuisines. I heard that making Thai food at home was pretty easy. Besides, considering preparing our Indian food itself is so elaborate, I knew it could not get anything more detailed. So, I called up my friend Sathya who happens to love to explore new dishes and has loads of cook books and recipes (Sath, you really should start blogging!) and borrowed this recipe from her. Thai food, just like Indian, has many flavours working simultaneously - making eating a feast in itself!

Although the orginal version called for a lot of peanuts, I slightly customized this recipe as per my family's needs since my hubby is not too fond of these. I have mentioned where exactly you toss those nuts in, so that you wont be missing out on a single thing!

Ingredients
Choice of vegetables - Washed and chopped/julienned (I have used brocolli, carrots, cauliflower. You could add tofu as well. I did not have it on hand so I went ahead without it)
1/2 Onion (Medium sized) - Julienned
1 Cup/8 fl. oz - Coconut Milk
2-3 Whole dried red chillies (Use more if you want to increase the spice quotient)
1 tbsp Cumin seeds
1 tbsp Coriander seeds
1 inch stub of Ginger
6 Cloves of garlic
1 tbsp peanuts, skin-off (I have not used this)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp Oil
And, of course, some salt to taste!!

Method
- Steam your veggies until soft. I had to fully cook mine to make sure my little son was able to eat! You could even opt to microwaving or boiling the veggies depending on how well cooked you want them to be.
- Grind together, in a blender, the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, ginger, garlic, red chillies, onion and peanuts into a fine paste using minimum water
- With your blender running, slowly pour in coconut milk to make a smooth gravy like fluid
- In a non-stick sauce pan, heat oil and pour the gravy
- Allow it to reach a rapid boil and then simmer for a few seconds
- Toss in the cooked veggies and salt. You could also add raw veggies at this point instead of cooking them beforehand and allow them to cook in the gravy itself
- Add the lemon juice
- Serve hot with a fresh tub of steamed white rice or try it along-side Asian Style Fried Rice, like I did.
Heaven on your plate!

SERVES 2-3

Asian Style Fried Rice

2010-06-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

We all end up doing some ridiculously dumb things some time or the other. For me, one such time was when I was really out of ideas as to what to make for dinner and I simply cooked up rice and sat wondering what to do next! I wanted to eat something beyond the regular Tomato Rice, Pulao or any other rice preparation that I would normally churn out. I sat watching TV and suddenly like a lightening, it struck me: Indo-Chinese. I mean HOW could I have not thought about it earlier. And, to my luck I had scallions stocked up from my Chicken Manchurian fiesta I had the previous night. The rice had cooled down to room temperature, I had a good stock of soy and chillie sauce...everything was so in sync and yes, and you guessed the rest - Asian Style Fried Rice was born!

Ingredients

1 Cup Rice, washed and drained

1 Bunch of Scallions, washed and chopped

1/2 Cup Onions, julienned

1 Green chillie, slit (Add more if you like things hot :P)

2 tbsp Ginger Garlic paste

1 tsp Fresh Garlic, coarsly chopped (Yes, I love additional fresh garlic in just about anything!)

3 tbsp Soy Sauce (Add more if you desire)

1 tbsp Red Chillie Sauce

1 tsp Ground pepper/Pepper powder

Ajinomoto or Regular salt, to taste

1/4 Cup Oil (You can use olive oil for extra flavour)

Method

- Cook the rice in 1 3/4 cup of water and set aside to cool to room temperature. Spreading the cooked rice over a large plate speeds this process and yields fluffy rice

- In a large wok/kadai, heat about 1/4 cup of oil

- Once it is hot, add the slit green chilli and onions and stir until the onions are translucent

- Add the coarsly chopped garlic and stir fry

- Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for another minute or so

- Throw in half of the chopped scallions and fry

- Now, lower the flame and add the red chillie and soy sauces and stir

- Toss in the rice, salt/ajinomoto and pepper and stir fry thoroughly (Boy, they dont call it 'fried' rice for nothing...all you do is fry in every darn step!)

- Fry (Yea! again) the rice on a medium high flame until it is coated well with the sauces and onions mixture

- Top up with the remaining half of the chopped scallions and serve piping hot with your choice of favourite gravy. I served mine with some tangy, spicy Thai Curry...so you know what is coming next on SSTT! Ah, can't I keep one little secret?

SERVES 3

Puran Poli, 2K Visitors And A Thank You Note!!!

2010-06-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is celebration time again. This time because SSTT touched 2000 visitors since March 2010. I know there are food blogs out there who have this much traffic in say about a week or so.. but this is big for me. Now, for those of you who have begun to think I made Puran Poli to celebrate 2K visitors I would like to correct you - Nopes! Here's a little story. I wanted to make them for Ugadi/Gudi Paadva but missed making them since we had a simple celebration at home. But the urge to eat puran polis had not died in me - after all we make such delicacies only once in a way! And, just in time for this moment, a friend of mine who is expecting her first baby, asked me if I could make her some. I grabbed the opportunity and made a whole-sale stock of puran polis. And as if all this was'nt enough, I receive this special Thank You note from Sanyukta of Creative Sanyukta. Thank You, gurl! Those of you who have not already seen her blog, take a peek.. she has some really innovative presentations happening there!

I am supposed to pass this to my blogger friends, so here goes!

Madhuri of Cook-curry Nook
Suma of Cakes & More!!
Gulmohar and Nostalgia of Collaborative Curry
Mallika of Veg Bowl
Priya of Priya's Easy and Tasty Recipes
Jothi of Panch Pakwan

And, all of you who continue to drop by SSTT...this one is for you, too. Thank You!!

Now for the recipe of this very popular Maharashtrian sweet treat - Puran Poli!

Ingredients
3 Cups - Maida (All purpose flour)
2 1/2 Cups Toor Dal (Some people use a mixure of toor and channa dals. If doing so, then make sure you soak the channa dal overnight so that it gets cooked well)
1 1/4 Cup Jaggery, made into tiny chunks (You can use jaggery powder to make things easier!)
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Cardamom seeds, powdered
A pinch of salt
Oil
Ghee
Water

Method
- Mix together maida, salt, turmeric
- Pour water and make a soft, pliable dough. Ensure you do not add too much water
- Towards the end of the kneading process add about half a cup of oil and knead using both your hands applying pressure and simultaneously incorporating the oil into the dough. Continue kneading for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour another 4-5 tbsp of oil over the dough
- Cover and set aside for about 2 hours
- Pressure cook the toor dal with just enough water to cover the dal by about 1 inch in the pressure cooker
- Once the pressure has released, drain any excess water and mash the dal to form a soft dough-like texture. It is essential that you have no water content left after you pressure cook the dal so that your stuffing (Puran) turns out super-soft and easy to handle
- In a large non-stick saucepan or a large wok, heat about 2 tsp of oil and transfer the cooked dal
- Add the jaggery chunks/powder and stir for about 20 minutes on a medium-low flame until the jaggery melts and incorporates itself into the dal to form a soft stuffing for your polis
- Stir in the powdered cardamom seeds and continue stirring in order to evaporate any liquid content left over in the stuffing. Turn off the heat as soon as you have a soft dough-like stuffing/puran ready
- Now clear up your counter space and set up your work area with a bowl of oil, a bowl of all purpose flour to dust, your rolling pin and...roll up your sleeves!
- Make lime sized balls of the puran and maida dough
- Using your hands made tiny cup like shapes out of the maida by rotating the dough between your thumbs and fingers (Or you could opt to simply roll them out into a circle using a rolling pin)

- In the center of each 'cup' place a ball of puran, seal as you would a paratha and set aside (like in the picture on the right side). Do not make too many of these at one go since they tend to dry out and you might have difficulty in rolling them out. Make your polis in batches instead
- Once you have about 10 of these ready, on a well oiled surface, roll them like you would chapathis/paratas, only being extra careful so that you do not end up with puran outside the dough. Use smooth, stretching motion to roll these babies, dusting flour along the way
- Place a griddle/tawa on a high flame and when its screaming hot, turn down to medium-low heat
- Place rolled out puran polis on the griddle and cook on both sides using genourous amounts of oil
- Serve hot with ghee and warm milk

Makes about 35 puran polis.

Madhuri's Microwave Chocolate Cake And A Li'l Gift For Her!

2010-05-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

I have been having this on my mind for a long time now. I just did not find a good chunk of time to sit down and do this post at one go. So, I split it up in bits and saved pictures and drafts along the way.. and today, finally I hit 'Publish Post'! Yes, Madhuri, this one is (again) for you. Those of you who don't already know , Madhuri and I were school mates and have now connected through online networking and most recently through food blogging. If you have'nt already taken a peek into her space, do so @ Cook-curry Nook.

Although my blog happens to be couple months older (half a year I guess!)than hers, I must admit her repertoire of recipes is way more exhaustive and delicious than what I have stocked up. Her pictures speak for themselves and make you want to immediately get your hands on the ingredients and try out what she has put up. So, one such recipe that had me at the first look was her uber-decadent Eggless,butterless 5-minute Microwave Chocolate Cake. I simply HAD to try it. And, that I sure did.

But before we dive into the tried and tested recipe, I have a little something to share. These days if there is anyone's blog that I look up for recipes, it is Madhuri's. I love how she explains things out, making cooking seem like a very enjoyable task...especially for a person like me, who would run out of the kitchen given a chance! So, I designed this ...um, let's call it a badge, shall we? Yeah, I designed this JnJ Inspirational Blogger Badge for her, to let her know she does so in every way. JnJ?? No, that's not a typo! Read on - Yes Madhuri, you inspire me with your cooking pretty much the way Julie Powell was by Julia Child to try out all of her recipes. So here you go..this one is for you - The Julie & Julia Inspirational Blogger Badge!!

Madhuri, you could share this with anyone you think inspires you in a similar way - or better yet, just keep it!! :D

Now, for the ultimate, super-quick, super-yummmmmmy cake recipe. I downsized it a bit and made some adjustments, which I've written down to guide you through the recipe. The major change of course was that I added Chocolate syrup instead of Cocoa powder which made my cake very gooey and fudge-like in the end. I like cakes that way so it was fine. But, if you like your cakes a wee bit dry then go for the cocoa powder (Psst...I tried that version too. Just goes to prove how much I love chocolate cake, does'nt it?)

Ingredients
1 1/4 Cups All purpose flour/Maida
4-5tbsp Hersheys Cocoa Syrup (OR 1/3 Cup Cocoa powder)
1 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
3/4th tsp Baking Powder
1/3rd tsp Baking Soda
1.5 tsp Vanilla essence
3 tsp Flax seed powder mixed in 3/4 cup warm water (substituting 3 eggs)
1/3 Cup Milk(I used whole milk)
1/3 Cup Oil (I used Corn Oil)
A pinch of salt

Method
- Sift the flour into a large preparation bowl
- Add the brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix
- Stir in the milk, oil and vanilla essence to make a smooth batter making sure there are no lumps
- Add the chocolate syrup and blend with your spatula
- Pour the flax seed powder mixed in warm water and mix well to make a silky textured cake batter
- Taste the batter to see if it is 'chocolatey' enough. If not add more syrup/cocoa powder
- Pour the batter into a microwave safe glass bowl. Madhuri suggests using a wide bowl, which is what I did
- Cover with cling wrap and make slits in the wrap to allow steam to escape
- Cook on high for about 8 minutes. Check and add more time if you feel the cake needs more cooking
- Once done, remove the cling wrap and allow it to rest up a tad bit - around 10 minutes.
- Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake to check if it is done. You could opt to check in another couple of spots too, since unlike the traditional/conventional oven, microwave heat (I think) does not spread very evenly.
- Let cool a few more minutes. Cut up into slices and decorate with your choice of toppings. I have used confectioner's sugar, clementine slices and dried blueberries.
- Serve warm (That's how I had mine)

This Makes about 12-15 thick, delicious slices of chocolate cake!

One helluva recipe I tell ya. I can see myself make it so very often! Danke, Madhuri...so so much! I just might try experimenting with it too, so watch out for this space.

Oh and yes, for those of you who loved the badge, go ahead - pick it up and share it with those who you think deserve it. Spread the inspiration!

Chicken Chettinad

2010-05-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah Chicken Chettinad. Sounds great I know. Tastes even better. But dont begin to assume I knew it the moment I got my hands on the chicken. (*thud* There goes my image in the dumps). We all love this dish, and it is on almost every menu card in nearly every Indian restaurant that serves up non-vegetarian Indian cuisine. So, over the past few weeks I was taken over by a sudden obsession to try out a new type of a gravy using Chicken. Something other than my regular C Cubed. It just had to be something spicy so this one came to my mind. I chanced on this recipe on Indian Food Forever, a website that I think carries quite a decent collection of recipes. The original recipe calls for poppy seeds. I normallly do not use them and did not have them on hand. If you do, then go ahead and 'pop' them in when you try this out. I am sure they'll render a great flavour!

Ingredients
For the masala
1/2 Cup Grated coconut
1" stick Cinnamon
1tsp Fennel seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1tsp Coriander seeds
3pcs Cardamom (Badi elaichi)
2 Cloves
1 Star anise
6-8 Whole red chilies
2 tsp Poppy Seeds (Optional. I have not used this)

Other Ingredients
2lbs Chicken, washed and cleaned, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 Cup Onion, chopped
1 tbsp Ginger, chopped
2 tbsp Garlic, chopped
1 tsp Red chili powder
3/4 Cup Tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp Lemon juice
10-12 Curry leaves
Fresh coriander leaves, to garnish
1/2 cup Oil
Salt To Taste

Method

- In a large wok/kadai, dry roast the ingredients for the masala
- Grind the roasted masala ingredients to a fine paste in the blender using minimum water
- Add the ginger and garlic to this paste in the blender and run it further to make a smooth paste/masala
- Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel
- Fry the onions till golden brown
- Toss in the curry leaves and allow to splutter
- Now add the ground paste and sauté for about a minute
- Add the tomatoes, red chili powder and turmeric powder and sauté.
- Add the chicken, mix and cook for 5 minutes and then add 2 cups of water and lemon juice
- Stir
- Add salt and cover and cook till the chicken is done. You could opt to pressure cook at this point.
- Serve piping hot chicken chettinad, garnished with coriander leaves along-side steamed rice, rotis or pooris

SERVES 4

Strawberry Lemonade To Celebrate The First Year!

2010-05-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

Time flies! Yes, that is probably the most under-rated statment made by everyone at least once in their lifetime..but it is true. I cannot believe it is one year since I started blogging out here on Some Salt To Taste. One year since I decided that I too could provide my two cents to the already brimming-with-talent food blogosphere. So, here is thanking each and every one of you who have been avid readers of all that I put down here...and to those of you who continue to inspire me with your work!

And, this time around I decided that I will celebrate it by sharing with you all a newly discovered summer favourite. We happened to chance on this drink at an American restautant not too long ago...and it is everything the word 'yum' can describe! Soothing and satisfying, perfect for the upcoming hot summer days - Here's presenting the Strawberry Lemonade!

Oh and yes, Cheers to Some Salt To Taste!

This recipe is courtesy Food Network. I did a lot of research online and I found this (One of Emeril Lagasse's recipes on the Food Network's website). He has included sparkling water in his original recipe, which is how I had mine at the restaurant. I made it without the same since I did not have any on hand. Try out both versions and see which suits your taste buds! Either ways its a great drink.

Ingredients

A dozen strawberries, Washed and hulled

Juice of a medium sized lemon (or about 4 tbsp)

2tsp - Lemon zest

4-6 tbsp Sugar (adjust if you need more sweetness)

5 Cups Water

Mint leaves and lemon slices, to garnish

Method

- Set water to boil in a large saucepan

- Once it bubbles, add sugar and allow to boil until the sugar melts

- Add the lemon juice and lemon zest and take off from the heat

- Allow it to come to room temperature

- Strain into a large pitcher

- Now, puree the strawberries and add this to the completely cooled 'lemony' water and stir

- Place in refrigerator until chill

- When you are ready to serve, fill glasses with ice and pour strawberry lemonade over them. Garnish with mint leaves and a slice of lemon

I made this and stored it in my fridge for about a week. I had a refreshing glass every day! So I would say this makes around 5 to 8 glasses of strawberry lemonade depending on how much ice you add.

Am sending this glass over to Radhika Subramanian's Fun N Sun event.

Chill. Enjoy!

Mixed Vegetable Paratha

2010-05-05T12:14:00.000-07:00

I would be lying if I said I make these often and that I am a pro at it. Honestly, I hardly make stuffed parathas of any kind although I love eating them. So, every now and then when I have the mood for it (psst... when I dont want to make many dishes for dinner!) I end up making these savoury, healthy flat-breads on which we feast! Yes, the picture below does little justice...but I really did not know how else to click it. Besides, I was way too eager to eat them screaming-hot-outta-the-griddle alongside Sanjeev Kapoor's Chatak Chillie pickle which finds its spot on my plate at almost every meal.

Ingredients
2 Cups Whole wheat flour
1 Medium sized potato, washed and peeled (This helps with the binding of the stuffing)
1.5 Cup of mixed veggies, washed, cleaned/peeled and roughly chopped (I've used peas, cauliflower, carrots and green beans)
1/3 Cup Onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
2 Green chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp Jeera (Cumin seeds)
Oil
Water
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- Knead the whole wheat flour into a soft, pliable dough using water
- Once all the flour holds together as one, add about 1/3rd cup of oil and knead well for about 3 minutes to ensure that the dough is soft and easy to roll out
- Cover and set aside
- Boil all the veggies (potato included) in the pressure cooker (or microwave) with some salt and minimum water
- Drain any excess water and mash the vegetables to make a soft textured paste. This is easy only if you have no water content left from boiling the vegetables
- Heat about 1 tsp oil in a wok/kadai and add jeera
- Once it splutters add the finely chopped green chillies, ginger-garlic paste and onions and fry for about a minute
- Now add the boiled and mashed vegetables
- Adjust salt and stir until any left-over water/moisture evaporates, but the mixture still retains a soft texture
- Set up your work area with your rolling board, rolling pin, a wide bowl of whole wheat flour for dusting while you roll
- Make lime sized balls of the vegetable filling and set aside
- Wash hands and now make slightly larger than lime sized balls of the dough
- Roll out the dough using the flour to dust your rolling board (so as to avoid sticking) into about a 2.5 to 3 inch wide circle
- Place the vegetable filling in the center and cover it from all sides and seal from above
- Press slightly to ensure a tight seal. Meanwhile place your griddle/tawa on the stove on a medium flame so that it heats up
- Now douse this in whole wheat flour and dust your rolling board with more flour
- Roll out to make parathas to your desired thickness. Make sure you use smooth, 'spreading' motions as you roll so that you dont end up with torn parathas
- Toss vegetable parathas on the hot griddle/tawa
- Apply oil and fry on either side until cooked through
- Serve hot with pickles and yogurt

SERVES 3-4 (Makes about 10-12 parathas)